


Higher Archy

by Mufffy, TrashArtist



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, Balthazar (Supernatural) Lives, Black Eye, Break Up, Breaking Up & Making Up, Concerts, Crying, Drama, Emotional Baggage, Fainting, Fighting, Fluff, Gabriel Being Gabriel (Supernatural), Gay, Guitars, Hurt Gabriel (Supernatural), I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inspired by Music, Kansas, Kissing, Lucifer is a lot more mellow, M/M, Making Out, Mutual Pining, Sabriel - Freeform, Sick Gabriel (Supernatural), Singing, Skateboarding, Slow Burn, Snakes, Song Lyrics, Swearing, There's plot here somewhere, Tour Bus, Underage Drinking, Wordcount: Over 100.000, kind of, sorry Sam, spending the night, that one gremlins movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-07-25 00:41:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 135,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20023693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mufffy/pseuds/Mufffy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashArtist/pseuds/TrashArtist
Summary: Gabriel is a country wide known singer, along with his brothers Michael, Lucien, and Balthazar.Sam is just a guy living in Kansas, nonethewiser of his brother dating Gabriel's brother.Will the fame and popularity of Sam and Gabe's relationship ruin what they have forever or will Sam somehow be able to pull his head out of his ass and fix everything he's fucked up?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> all of the songs are linked to the lyrics so you can click them while reading / theyre also heavily inspired from bowling for soup, all time low, some my chemical romance, and a bunch of random songs we wanted to add in

"On in two!” Gabe flinched at the loud yell before sticking his tongue out. He sighed and glanced at the strings of his guitar, quickly strumming it once before shaking as it made the whole stage vibrate. He smiled bashfully at his brothers and manager who were glaring and unplugged the cord from the input jack. “..Sorry” He laughed a little, listening to the thousands of fans cheer on the other side of the curtain. 

“Dumbass” Lucien whispered, tapping his drum stick on his knee.

Michael rolled his eyes, arms crossed as he stood waiting with his guitar. "That's one way to get them hyped I s'pose."

"Let's do it again," Balthazar laughed, picking his own up and reaching for the cord of it.

"Don't you dare," Michael warned, squinting at him.

"Pft, you're no fun."

“I mean-“ Gabe grinned, plugging his back in. “We could-“

“No” Luci mumbled and yanked the cord back out. 

”Luci!” Gabe frowned deeply at him, taking the cord back. “You’re gonna jack up my equipment” He complained, plugging it back in to slide around his back. 

“Good, then you won’t play anymore” Lucien muttered. 

Gabe pouted and stepped closer to the mics closer to the stage. “Michael, Lucien is being mean again!” He whined, eyes widening when he heard their fans laughing. “Can no one fucking turn off a mic?!” He snapped, picking it up to push the button down.

"Wait, the mics are on?" Balthazar laughed loudly, starting to head over to them before feeling Michael take hold of his shoulder. "Come on, I wanna fuck with the fans!"

"You're all children," Michael deadpanned, glancing towards the curtain and back to his brothers with an amused smile. "Lu, quit messing with Gabe's things and get to your place. They're ready to start."

“Hey don’t fucking call me Lu, Mike” Lucien smiled and let out a cut of scream when Gabe clung to his back. “Guys there’s a bug- get it off of me!” He shouted and walked around the wires, holding Gabe’s legs as he walked them onto the main stage. 

“You’re a bug” Gabe muttered in Lucien’s ear before reaching for a mic, successfully tapping it before wincing. “Ah, I uh-oh-“ Gabe stopped as Lucien almost dropped him, setting himself down. “I don’t know which ones are on” He mumbled admittedly, messing with another stand for Lucien’s drumset. 

“It’s on” Lucien leaned into the mic for his voice. 

“How do you know?”

Lucien stared before pressing the pedal to the bass drum, scaring Gabe. 

“Okay, you don’t have to be mean..” Gabe whined into the mic against his shoulder.

"Knock it off, Lu," Michael sighed, putting extra emphasis on 'Lu' and nudging Balthazar toward his place with his guitar and gesturing for Gabe to do the same. "They're ready to start."

Gabe stuck his tongue out and flipped Michael off before moving to his place in the middle of the stage, bringing his guitar out in front. “Are you ready Chicago?” He yelled into the mic, listening to the fans yell loudly. “I like that!” He grinned victoriously and began playing a familiar song to his brothers. 

“You cunt!” Lucien laughed and began playing anyways.

"Fuck you!" Michael snorted and grinned, looking out at the crowd as they all started on the song.

 _[“Manage me, I’m a mess”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdSoooAjXec)_ Gabe smiled widely, focusing on the ground so he didn’t bump into the mic stand again. [_“Turn a page. I’m a book, half unread. I wanna be laughed at- laughed with, just because! I wanna feel weightless, and that should be enough”_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdSoooAjXec) Gabe smiled gently before pressing into the strings again, harder this time. [_“But I’m stuck in this fucking rut, waiting on a second han-_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdSoooAjXec) what?” Gabe paused and leaned back to stare at his guitar in confusion, gently shaking it before getting a worried expression. 

Lucien slowed his drumming to a stop, standing up to drum against the cymbals a few times, a classic signal to stop playing.

Balthazar glanced over at him, stopping to tilt his head. "What- what are you doing?" he asked in confusion, tilting his head and starting to inch closer.

Gabe frowned deeply and took the guitar off his shoulders, coming up to Balthazar. “The guitar pick is stuck in the hole” He frowned, mumbling to him away from any of the mics. 

“What?” Lucien asked from his place and walked around his set. He came up next to him and took the guitar in confusion, gently moving it. “Oh shit, it’s stuck in there” He whispered with a deep frown. He turned it a little and looked at Michael, nodding him over.

Michael furrowed his brow, gently setting his guitar down and heading over. “How in the-?”

Balthazar didn’t bother holding back his laughter. “How the bloody hell did you manage that, Gabriel?”

“Can- can you get your fingers in? Or any of you?” Michael asked, glancing at them all with confusion still on his face.

Gabe pouted and shook his head, taking the edge in his hand to try and get his smaller hands in the hole. “I don’t wanna break the strings” He complained and sighed, coming over to the mic to hold. “Um-..So I lost the pick in the soundhole” Gabe shrugged and listened as their fans laughed and gasped. “Yeah just uh.. Just a minute, I’m scared they’re gonna break my baby”

“Let’s shake it” Lucien suggested, flipping it over to gently jostle it around. 

“Don’t shake it!” Gabe yelled into the mic before turning to take it from him.

Balthazar was still laughing, falling backwards and sitting on the stage as the others attempted to get the pick out.

“Okay okay, uh,” Michael look around them, then out at the crowd. He stood up and grabbed Gabe’s mic. “I apologize, just uh, give us a second.. unless someone has pencil-thin fingers.”

Gabe shook his head, leaning over. “No one touches my baby!” Gabe frowned at him. 

“Jesus fucking-“ Lucien jerked it from Michael’s hand to shake sideways, violently pushing the pick around. 

“Lucien!” Gabe screamed, watching in horror. 

“Wait-“ Lucien paused to jerk the guitar again, watching the pick fly into the row of people in front. “Ah..” Lucien frowned and glanced at Gabe. “Got it out?” He asked softly. 

Gabe sneered and took his guitar back forcefully and set it down before jumping off the front of the stage to land in front of the crowd, looking up at the bodyguards keeping him safe. “Um..” Gabe frowned and looked around the fans. “Did anyone catch it?” He asked loudly, glancing around in the area Lucien had let it fly.

There was a lot of chatter amongst people before someone called out “Right here!”, raising a hand high above the crowd with the pick pinched between his fingers.

Gabe smiled brightly as he stared at how tall this guy must be. He turned to gesture for Balthazar to give him the mic, catching it easily off stage. “Alright, can we move over and make a path?” Gabe asked softly, watching at the very tall man approached, obviously nervous. “Oh- my god” Gabe laughed nervously himself, leaning against the wall dividing them, toes pressed against the wall to be taller as they stood side by side.

The man made his way cautiously forward, arms tucked close against his sides as he approached. “Uh- hi, sorry um, uh.. here,” he stuttered, giving a small smile as he held the pick out.

Gabe smiled brightly as he took the pick and suddenly hugged the man. He laughed and pulled away, holding the mic down to cover it. “Thank you, so much” He smiled. “What’s your name?”

He blinked quickly in surprise, then smiled. “Sam, uh.. my name’s Sam. And it’s not a problem, really.”

“No- it is” He smiled gently and looked at the pick. “My mom gave it to me when I was little” He laughed and glanced back at Lucien and Michael dancing on the stage to nothing. “Um- I owe you something. Anything- come backstage afterward” Gabe suggested quickly, turning to the tall man at his side. “Let this man backstage after the show” Gabe nodded and turned to Sam, walking back to the stage to set the mic down and stuck the pick in his mouth as he climbed back up, Lucien helping him back all the way.

Sam gaped at him, grinning with a look of shock as he started inching back to his original place.

“Hey, thanks, man!” Michael called after Sam, smiling as Gabe rejoined them on the stage. “Welcome back- are we finally ready?”

“Hopefully I won’t lose it again” Gabe mumbled to himself and nodded, putting the mic back into place and picked up his guitar, strumming to see if it’d come out of tune. “Alright,” He grinned, playing a few cords. “Let’s try this again Chicago!”

“Scream if you want Gabe to stop losing his damn picks!” Balthazar yelled jokingly, smirking at his brother as he started playing again.

Gabe shrugged his shoulders and smiled guiltily as almost all of their fans laughed and cheered. “I’m sorry!” Gabe yelled into the mic before clearing his throat. [_“Manage me, I’m a mess”_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdSoooAjXec) He grinned, starting over again. 

He continued this time all the way through with no major problems. Improv a few songs here and there and they’re finally on the last one. He smirked and looked at his brothers. “Uh- um” He hummed before beginning to play softer. “You all remember Kali, my girlfriend right? Well, fiancé” Gabe corrected and they cheered. “She’s such a cheating whore” Gabe laughed maniacally before beginning to sing. [_“Baby- For years you’ve been saying- Why don't you write me a song? And I'm like "I don't know, I'm not inspired to write you a song, but last night, I decided I'm gonna freakin' do this"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0) Gabe yelled, getting an angry face. [_“We've been together for so long and you always asked me why I never wrote a song. All about you, about our love, and about how you're the only one I'm thinking of._ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_I've been writing all night and I- I got it just right!_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_Here we go!_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_You talk too much_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_You never shut up_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_Everything I do for you is never enough!”_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

Lucien snorted loudly as he continued playing and sang along.

Balthazar grinned, starting to play right alongside Gabe. so that he could focus more on the lyrics.

Gabe snorted and smiled at his brother before turning his guitar around in general, grabbing the mic freely after a few seconds. [_“You snore, you drool, you talk in your sleep. Won't get a night's rest until you're six feet deep I promised you forever, but we both know, we’re never gonna get along._](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_You want it, you got it_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

[_Here's is your freakin' song!”_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0)

Gabe nodded frantically and laughed as he finished the rest of the song and sighed deeply. 

[_“Those are manners and everything, I uh, I hope you like this song.. I spent a lot of time on it, but I've spent oh there's Mikey. I’m just playing, I didn't really spend a lot of time on it- This is the chorus”_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0) He shrugged and continued to sing until the end. 

[_“OK I don't know why this is still going. I anticipated this being three minutes long, it’s still going here, I don't even know what's happening. Anyway that's this song I wrote for you and uh-“_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0) Gabe paused as the music ended and his brother stared at him [_“Okay- Evidently it's over now I don't know.. I have no idea on the timing of it and uh.. Boy this is sort of an awkward moment here I uh.. I’m going to be honest, I have to pee”_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EDy8hEuJv0) Gabe paused and laughed, snorting and cackling into the mic as he lost it.

Michael sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, still smiling as he walked forward and patted his brother’s shoulder. “You guys have been a great audience tonight! Thanks to all of you for coming, and for putting up with this dumbass for losing his pick.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t let him live it down!” Balthazar laughed, clapping his hands a couple of times.

Gabe sighed and leaned down a little, covering his face before looking back to smile at everyone. “Thank you, Chicago! I’m gonna go piss now!” He called out before taking his guitar off and jogging backstage. 

“Oh, he really had to pee” Lucien mumbled as they all walked backstage and laughed about it.

“We just spent like, two hours on stage Lucien,” Balthazar scoffed. “I’m surprised you don’t.”

Lucien shrugged a little and thought about it with a frown. “Well, now I have to!” He muttered, sighing as he went in the direction of Gabe. 

Gabe passed him and smacked him with wet hands before drying his hands on his pants. “Hey- Is Sam here?” He asked with a smile, looking around the backstage before frowning.

"Who?" Michael asked, then opened his mouth in a small 'oh'. "Um.. I haven't seen him. He wouldn't be easy to miss, he seemed like a giant, even from the stage."

Balthazar shrugged. "Maybe he forgot, or thought you were joking. We don't normally invite people backstage," he pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Gabe blinked and then cast his eyes downward. “Yeah..” Gabe mumbled and shrugged as he began packing up his guitar in his bag. “I’ll see you guys on the bus when we head back to Kansas” He grinned. “I’ll be sleeping all the way there and back” He snorted.

Balthazar gave him a look, then resumed his grin and nodded. "Right there with ya. Luc and I have the photo op first, though."

Gabe groaned and leaned on Balthazar. “I forgot about our photo op thing..” He frowned. “That’s at least another hour of standing up” He sighed.

"Oh, you'll be fine," Balthazar sighed, patting his arm. "If it makes you feel better, we'll make a sign saying all of your pictures have to be taken sitting down."

Gabe snorted and shook his head a little before leaning away from his brother. “I’ll be fine as long as no one is trying to pick me up again” He mumbled.

"Let's get going then." Michael waved them forward as Lucien came back to the group. "The people await."

“Ew I hate people” Lucien sighed and followed anyway. 

Gabe smiled widely as they went and happily followed his brothers. He figured Sam wasn’t going to show up when twenty minutes past, let alone the extra ten minutes they added for the hour. Finally, FINALLY! Gabe could get to the tour bus and sleep for once. He was the first one on and fell onto whichever bed was closest, being Michael’s. He couldn’t seem to care as he starting drifting off. 

“Oh nice, Michael you have fun with that” Lucien laughed and took a picture before helping Gabe to take his shoes off.

Michael wrinkled his nose, grumbling under his breath about his bed literally being the next one down before sighing. "Whatever. I'll move him later. Or steal his bed and blankets, whichever comes first."

"You do that," Balthazar scoffed, flopping down on his own bed and kicking his shoes and jacket to the floor. "I'm sleeping."

“We know” Lucien laughed and took Gabe’s blanket off his bed to lay next to him before rolling him onto it to pick him up. “You know, we could actually make our beds for once so they’d look nice in here” He mumbled as he got Gabe settled in before working his pants off to drop on the floor.

"Could," Balthazar shrugged, eyes closed as he laid with his arms behind his head. "But eh, nobody else comes in here anyway."

“I mean, sure” Lucien mumbled, unbuckling his pants to drop to the floor, closing the blinds behind Gabe’s bed. “Alright. Kansas tomorrow guys” He mumbled, tugging Gabe in up to his chin before laying down himself.

"Finally," Michael sighed, sitting and lying back on his bed. "It'll be good to see everyone else again."

“I can’t wait to see Cas” Lucien admitted as he tucked himself in and drifted off as soon as he was down.

"Yeah." Michael smiled at him and nodded, turning onto his side to slowly fall asleep as their driver continued on and out of Illinois, making their way to Lawrence.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucien was up the next morning in the small kitchen of their bus to make coffee and pancakes. He drank most of the coffee, but that’s beside the point. He grinned and flipped a pancake before peeking in on his brothers.

Balthazar was sitting up on his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before looking up at him. "Morning. Are we in Kansas yet?"

“Just another hour or two” Lucien smiled at him before moving the last pancake onto a plate. He came back into the living room and took his pillow, glancing at Balthazar before turning to Michael’s sleeping figure. He raised the pillow up and brought it crashing down against the side of his face as hard as he could.

“AHH!” Michael shrieked, rolling over so forcefully that he fell off of his bed and landed on the floor with a loud thud. “What the hell Lu?!”

“Shh,” Lucien whispered as Gabe whined in his sleep. “You wouldn’t wanna wake the baby” He smiled gently and crouched beside Michael to pet his head.

Michael wrinkled his nose in annoyance, batting his hand away and scooting back so he could sit up properly. He winced and moved a hand to rub his shoulder. "You're a dick."

“I know” Lucien mumbled and patted Michael’s shoulder. “Pancakes are in our tiny ass kitchen, and you’ve got two hours” Lucien smiled and stood up. “Do you want an ice-“

“Pancakes!” Gabe yelled as he sat up, his hair a mess. He looked tired as he bobbed his head up and down a little.

"Welcome to the party," Balthazar scoffed, rolling his eyes and taking a plate of food to his bed to eat. "Try not to step on Michael when you get up."

"Ha. Ha. Fuck you," Michael grumbled, moving to sit against the side of his bed.

Gabe squinted at the wall and yawned widely before flopping back to sleep again. 

“No, Gabriel get up” Lucien frowned at him before moving to shake his brother. “You’ve got less than two hours. Go eat and put pants on”

“No” Gabe grinned widely from where his face was pressed into the pillow.

"Gabriel," Michael said sternly, looking towards his bed. "Come on. Don't you want to see Cas? We've got less than two hours to go."

Gabe smiled wider and leaned up, letting Lucien pull him onto the floor. “We get to see Cas again?!” He gaped and shifted his legs around until he was standing. “I’m so excited!” Gabe declared loudly, running to the kitchen. “Can I call him?” He begged. 

“Uh.. I don’t see why not. Michael?” Lucien asked.

Michael raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "You're an adult, I don't care."

"Put him on speaker, though, don't hog the brotherly bonding," Balthazar joked with his mouth full of pancake, getting up from his bed to join the others.

“Adult seems vague since I’m barely nineteen” Gabe mumbled as he carried his pancakes, phone pressed into his shoulder. “Or- newly nineteen” Gabe mumbled and laughed, hearing Cas pick up. “Cassie!” Gabe cheered. 

“Is that Gabe?” Dean asked from the other side of his and Cas’ shared kitchen table. He was sitting quietly, nursing a coffee Cas had made him.

Cas' expression brightened as he nodded to him. "Gabriel! How's the tour going? Are you on your way to Kansas yet?"

“Yeah, we’ve only got an hour and some left before we get there” Gabe smiled at his pancakes as he ate. 

“Speaker jack ass” Lucien frowned at him. 

“Oh,” Gabe whispered and changed it before standing up. “Tell Dean I said hi” He called out as he walked back to the kitchen with his empty plate.

Cas laughed on his end of the line, pulling his phone away from his ear to put his phone on speaker. "He can hear you, tell him yourself. Can our brothers hear us?"

"We can hear you, Castiel," Michael confirmed, finally standing to get closer to the phone.

“Tell me what?” Dean mumbled, squinting at the phone once he heard Michael. 

“Gabe’s gonna steal your man, Cas!” Lucien laughed. 

“That’s not what I fucking said!” Gabe yelled from further away, getting into the shower. 

“You’re all dicks” Dean mumbled softly.

"Aw, love you too," Balthazar teased, then waved his hand. "Anyway, Gabe wouldn't steal you from Cas because I'm pretty sure there was someone last night he was interested in. But that's beside the point."

"Wait- elaborate?" Cas asked in confusion.

"Nope, Gabe'll kick my ass," Balthazar laughed. "Anyway, yeah, we're like almost an hour away from Lawrence."

“Gabe actually hooking up with someone?” Dean laughed. “Sorry, it’s just.. he’s kind of a..”

“Whore?” Lucien asked softly. 

“Lucien!” Michael snapped. 

“Okay- very.. flirtatious” Lucien mumbled. 

“Yeah, sure” Dean laughed. “Anyway, my brother said something about him being really weird last night”

“What?” Lucien asked. 

“My brother went to the concert last night. He’s here now, said he drove all night and stuff” Dean shrugged.

"Oh?" Michael tilted his head. "Not sure if we saw him. What do you mean, he was being weird?"

“I don’t know. He climbed off stage and was looking for a pick. That’s all he really told me” Dean smiled tiredly. “He said Gabe looked happy and flirtatious and shit” Dean yawned and shifted to stand up.

Cas paused a moment and hummed. "Well, that definitely sounds like him. Oh! Speaking of Dean's brother, you'll all get to see him once you get here."

“Oh boy, another one” Lucien muttered softly before laughing. 

“Yeah, he’s at his own place sleeping though” Dean shrugged. “He’s pretty tired”

"Well, it is an over eight-hour drive," Balthazar shrugged. "We at least got to sleep. Our driver is gonna be taking a break when we get there, too."

“Wouldn’t blame him” Dean smiled. 

“I’m back!” Gabe grinned in his skinny jeans and Michael’s shirt. 

“Is that my shirt?” Lucien asked with a frown. 

“No? I thought it was Cas’” Gabe admitted and looked down at it.

"How many of my shirts do you have at this point?" Cas asked with a sigh. "I still find some that I'm pretty sure are yours, but I can't tell at this point."

Michael shrugged. "He's kind of a clothing thief."

“Wait this is Michael’s!” Gabe gasped suddenly making all of his brothers laugh.

“So it’s mine too?” Lucien joked. 

“No-“ Gabe paused and played with it. “..Well..”

"I feel like you're doing this on purpose now," Michael sighed, then smiled. "Okay- I call shower next so Lu doesn't use all the hot water again," he stated before quickly taking off into the bathroom.

"See? He thinks you do too!" Balthazar said pointedly, squinting at Lucien.

“I don’t!” Lucien defended himself and frowned. 

“You kind of do..” Gabe mumbled and glanced at his phone with a smile. “Doesn’t he, Cas?” He snorted.

"Yes," came Cas' blunt reply. "Yes, you do. Why do you think I time you when you all come over?"

“You time us in the shower?” Gabe mumbled and glanced around before dropping the phone on his bed to look out the window above his bed. “Hey, we’re close to our place!” Gabe grinned. 

“Alright, we’ll be leaving my place when you guys get to your place. Just text or call again” Dean smiled at Cas. 

“We will, bye Cas-“ Gabe smiled as he stood up and opened the bathroom door. “Michael say bye!”

Michael yelped in surprise and reached out of the shower to toss a hand towel at him. "Get OUT!"

"Bye Castiel!" Balthazar laughed from his seat in the kitchen.

"Goodbye!" Cas laughed through the phone.

“Your brothers sure are something” Dean mumbled around his mug.

"Yes, I know," Cas sighed as he hung up, then smiled. "But I love them anyway."

Dean snorted a little and moved to take his phone out of his pocket. “Sam says he’s up” Dean frowned. “Go back to bed” He laughed and set his phone down. “That kid” He muttered.

"Sam always gets up early, though, doesn't he?" Cas shrugged, then tilted his head in thought. "Is he coming over today?"

“Yeah he’s coming over, I’ll just give tell him we’ll be at your place. What I meant is that he just got back hours ago and is already getting up. The kid can survive off of no sleep”

Cas smiled and shook his head. "I'm somehow not surprised, honestly. He seems to do that a lot. Pull all-nighters, I mean."

“I know he does but it still makes me disappointed” Dean half-joked. “I just want to make sure he’s okay” Dean mumbled, glancing away with a frown.

Cas glanced at him, then rested a hand on his shoulder. "You could always call him, just to check up."

Dean hummed and looked up at him. “What if he’s asleep right now?” Dean asked, glancing at his phone once it went off. “..Fine, I’ll call him” He muttered and picked up the phone to dial Sam’s number, holding it up to his ear.

"Hey Dean," Sam answered after it had rang a couple of times. "What's up?"

“Nothing. Just called to tell you to go back to bed” Dean laughed softly and smiled. “And to ask how you’ve been”

Sam snorted and sighed. "First off, no I will not go back to bed, I'm already awake. Secondly, I'm good, just a dumbass."

“Yeah, I already knew that” Dean grinned and leaned back to take Cas’ hand to play with his fingers. “So how was the concert last night?” Dean asked.

"Good, I caught a guitar pick and drew attention to myself," Sam laughed anxiously. "But I mean, obviously that didn't last long after they started the songs."

“Congratulations, how does it feel to be Tumblr famous?” Dean snorted. “There’s gonna be so much fan art” He whispered with a smirk.

"Oh god, why?" Sam half-laughed, half-groaned. "I'll be remembered as 'That giant stuttering guy who caught Gabriel's guitar pick'."

“You might be” Dean grinned and glanced at Cas. “Alright, well, have fun with that imagery and I’ll let you go. Oh- and come over to Cas’ place when in about half an hour. We’re meeting over there”

"Alright, sure," Sam shrugged after a moment. "See you then?"

“See you soon Sammy” Dean smiled against his phone before hanging up. “Weird, he sounds fine” He mumbled and huffed

"That's.. good, though, isn't it?" Cas asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but he was all anxious and panicking last night” Dean shrugged softly. “I guess he’s already met Gabe, so that’s cool” Dean grinned.

"Yes, but we still haven't said anything about him being my brother," Cas pointed out with a small smile.

“Yes, I did” Dean smiled back before pausing. “At least I thought I did” He mumbled and shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m sure I would’ve told him something this big though”

Spoiler alert. He did not. 

“Cassie!” Gabe smiled brightly as he nearly tackled his older brother to the ground, clinging tightly to him. “Oh, I never wanna go on tour again..” He mumbled softly against his brother's shoulder. “Eight months is too long” He complained.

Cas stumbled backward, laughing as he wrapped his arms around Gabe. "I missed you all. How long are you staying for?" he asked, looking up at the others. "You're not leaving soon, I hope."

“Not at all!” Gabe grinned widely. “Not for another at least three months. The plan is four months, but we’ve got at least three” Gabe mumbled and leaned back to smile at Sam. “Ah, you’ve so much taller” Gabe giggled. 

“Maybe you just shrunk” Dean shrugged and grinned at Gabe. 

“Hey, I’ll fucking cut you” Gabe pouted and leaned into Cas’ neck where he stuck his tongue out. 

“He’s right, Gabe. I think you did shrink” Lucien smirked at Gabe. “I think you’ve lost at least two inches”

"I'm gonna have to agree with Luci," Balthazar teased.

"Alright, enough," Michael snorted, patting Cas' shoulder in greeting. "It's good to see you again."

"Great to see you all, too," Cas grinned, pulling back from Gabe. "Was the last show as great as always?"

Gabe laughed and shook his head a little. “I uh- lost my pick.. the one mom gave me when I was a kid” He frowned. “But someone actually gave it back- which surprised me. I was scared they were gonna keep it” He admitted. “But uh- got to sing that song about Kali finally. You know, the one I dated for four years and fucking got pregnant by another guy while I was on tour? Yeah” Gabe smiled brightly. “Fucking.. great” He scoffed and looked down. 

“Hey,” Lucien smiled softly at him. “It’s okay if you wanna vent some more”

“I’m okay” Gabe shrugged a little.

"She doesn't deserve you anyway," Michael huffed, crossing his arms. "Plus, she was always kind of rude towards us."

"True," Balthazar shrugged, then looked at Gabe. "But I think that song kinda helped you, didn't it?"

Gabe thought about it as Lucien pulled him in for a hug. “..Yeah” Gabe mumbled and grinned. “Plus, she was mean to you guys. Like really mean” He mumbled. 

“See? It was better that you got out early” Lucien grinned. 

“Yeah- hey, I was thinking about this new song” Gabe mumbled softly, watching Lucien already standing up. 

“Go get your guitar, we’ll start setting up in here” Lucien grinned as him and his brothers all went to their bags to get their guitar and Lucien began setting up his drum set.

"Uh.. I'll.. move some furniture," Cas said, pushing the couch and coffee table back a little to make room for them.

"Sorry Cassie," Balthazar smiled slightly apologetically. "But to be fair, you invited us here, you really should've expected this."

"Mhm, right, well, don't break anything," Cas laughed, then sighed with a shake of his head as he sat back on the couch.

Gabe laughed and watched him, tearing the strings on his guitar. “To be fair, we all live here. You just live here the most” He shrugged and grinned as he kept playing until he found the beat that went with his words. It took a couple of seconds of angry expressions before he became more confident and played a little louder. 

_[“All these people are passed out on the floor in my hotel room”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKhXrm_IA0) _

Lucien nodded a bit before added his bass, playing something softer in the background. 

_[“I don’t know. Half of them. But they all wanna know me- And it’s four in the morning.. I’m just trying to fix myself. What the hell did I do? I’m the life of the party”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKhXrm_IA0) _

Balthazar and Michael both stayed mostly quiet, listening to Gabe for a few seconds before slowly adding in their own parts. Cas smiled and tilted his head in interest, glancing at the clock before a knock at the door caught his attention. "Dean," he said, nodding to the door.

Gabe stopped for a second before grinned turning to smile at Lucien, picking up the pace rather quickly. 

Dean nodded and shifted to get up, open the door for his brother. “Sammy” He grinned. 

_[“Somewhere in between! Who I used to be. And who I'll be tomorrow when the champagne blows my mind. Thrills don't come for free, the price you pay for dreams. In a sea of strangers, I can't find me anymore, anymore. I can’t find me anymore” ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKhXrm_IA0) _

Gabe laughed as Lucien added in something wild, making Gabe snort, covering his mouth.

Sam opened his mouth to greet him, then paused. "What's going on in.." he started, then trailed off with wide eyes as he looked past Dean into the room.

"Hello Sam," Cas said to him, waving slightly. "You don't need to just stand there in the doorway, you know."

"I- but whats-?" He gestured to the group in the middle of the room, a mixture of excitement and panic on his face.

_[“I keep thinking about you, how you level me out sometimes. When I'm out on my head, and I don't wanna face it. You said it's all for a reason, what the fuck is the reason now? Coming down, bring me back, I'm the life of the party..”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKhXrm_IA0) _

_[“I’m the life of the party!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKhXrm_IA0) _

Gabe shouted and laughed as he turned around _[“Somewhere inbetween, who I used to be. And who I’ll be t-“](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKhXrm_IA0)_ Gabe paused to stare wide-eyed at Sam, frozen in shock and a little bit of anxiety. 

Lucien quickly tapped the cymbals for them to stop before catching the metal in his hands. He also stared at Sam, squinted a little in confusion.

Sam stared back in equal shock, then hunched over on himself and took a step back. "Uh.. hi, again, don't know if you really remember me," he said with a nervous smile at Gabe, then looked over at Dean. "What- how are they here??"

Balthazar tilted his head at him, pursing his lips in thought. "Wait, Sam?" he asked, looking at Cas to confirm, who gave him a nod.

Gabe finally looked away from Sam, clearing his throat before taking the guitar off his shoulder to set on the stand. “I uh..” Gabe blushed a little at the sudden memory of being rejected last night. “Yeah. I remember you” Gabe said stiffly. 

“Um..” Dean smiled anxiously and glanced at Cas. “These are Cas’ brothers” Dean mumbled to Sam anxiously.

"Wait- seriously?" Sam snapped his head toward Dean. "You didn't think to mention this before?"

“Wait- you didn’t tell him we were Cas’ brothers?!” Gabe gaped at Dean, coming up to the man. “Are you a fucking idiot?” He snapped at Dean, gripping his shirt. 

“Only if you’re five foot”

Gabe gasped in offense, shoving Dean onto the couch “I’ll fucking stab you!” Gabe laughed as Dean sat up. 

“Please do!” Dean raised his hands in an offering.

"Please don't?" Cas said insistently, shaking his head. "Dean, you said you told him."

"Well uh, he didn't, but I guess everyone kinda picked up on that.. wait, do they know about me?" Sam asked, pointing to the band members and sending a glance towards Gabe.

Gabe shrugged. “Not until last night” He mumbled and sat backwards on the couch to face Sam. “I knew of you, but never got a face to match with the stories” He offered in all seriousness before frowning and turning back around.

Sam grimaced and drummed his fingers on his arms. "Right.. well uh.. good to know I could've known one of my favorites bands, Dean."

"I mean.. we're here now," Michael pointed out, gesturing around the room.

“We’re not going anywhere either” Gabe smiled at Cas before hopping up with an excited look before taking ahold of Cas’ hands “Oh- I totally forgot. You guys are gonna have early access to the new album like.. two weeks early. And! Backstage passes to the next concert. But don’t worry, it’ll be right here in Kansas” Gabe smiled at Dean and Cas, squeezing Cas’ hands a little.

Cas grinned brightly up at him. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you so much, Gabriel," he told him.

"The passes are for all three of you, just an FYI," Balthazar explained. "Uh, Sam, you too, but at the time you were just 'Dean's brother'."

“Yeah, that was a really big coincidence” Gabe shrugged a little and smiled. “I was gonna give you backstage passes when you’d come backstage last night or at the photo op but.. I never saw you” Gabe mumbled the last part softly, slouching his shoulders a little.

Sam glanced down at the floor and then back up at him. "I was gonna go, I really was but.. nerves kinda got the best of me and I wasn't really sure if you were being serious."

Gabe smiled as his whole demeanor changed to understanding. “I’m not that intimidating!” He whined, pouting a little. “And believe me, I’m very serious, Lucien shut the fuck up” Gabe held up a finger behind him as Lucien almost opened his mouth. “Really, I’m not that bad. I’m nineteen, a college drop out and knows how to play guitar. Trust me, I wouldn’t hurt a fly”

“Yeah because flies are harmless..”

Gabe frowned and turned around. “Lucien I swear to god I will beat you with your own cymbals” He glared. 

“Try me” Lucien grinned before Michael fixed him with a look and glanced away

Sam smiled in amusement, shrugging. "Kinda wish I would've stuck around, I didn't think you invited people backstage."

"We don't, with some exceptions," Balthazar explained. "Saving his guitar pick from being stolen by crazed fans makes you an exception."

Gabe laughed and smiled widely. “I really do appreciate that.. Again. I feel like I owe you more” He frowned and tapped his leg a little. “I don’t really know what I could do” He groaned and looked at Sam. “What do you want from me? Anything” Gabe nodded with a serious face.

"What? No, no, you don't owe me anything," Sam insisted, putting his hands up and shaking his head. "I'm not expecting anything, really."

“Dammit Samuel, you’re supposed to be a greedy bitch!” Gabe whined and laughed a little.

"Sam," Sam corrected him with a smile. "And uh.. no, I'm pretty content.. for the most part."

“See? Most part. What do you want? Cocaine? Pills?” He joked as he climbed over the couch to sit on the back of it. “Come on, you know you want something” Gabe smiled softly at him.

Sam only shrugged and wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't know, but it's not drugs. Can't even handle weed that well."

Gabe pouted and gave him big eyes. “Please??” He smiled widely at him. “You know you wanna tell me” He grinned.

Sam snorted and held back and laugh, shaking his head. "It's really not a big deal. I don't want to bother you."

“You’re bothering him more by not telling him” Lucien snorted and smiled at his brother practically throwing a fit. 

“Is it embarrassing? Here, whisper it to me” He smiled softly, gesturing to his ear.

"There's nothing to tell," Sam insisted, breaking into a laugh. "Seriously."

"Dean, give us something," Balthazar demanded, grabbing a drumstick and pointing it at him.

“I don’t know what he’d want!” Dean laughed, shrugging Balthazar off. “He’s a weird kid”

“Come on, Sam. I really wanna know” He complained, taking ahold of Sam’s sleeves to pull on them a little. “You’re killin me”

"I- I don't know," Sam laughed, shaking his head. "I mean, I've already met you."

“Wait that was it?” Gabe asked, letting go of him with a flat smile. “..Really?” He mumbled softly.

"I don't know, I didn't know I could've met you at any time," Sam shrugged, stepping back a little and looking over at his brother. "There's not really I lot I'm looking forward to as of recently."

Gabe stared blankly before blinking quickly. “I give up” Gabe mumbled and let himself fall backwards on the couch, staring at Lucien upside down. “Hey bring me my guitar” He mumbled softly, sticking his arms out for it, making grabby hands.

Sam shrugged and moved to lean back against the wall. Michael rolled his eyes at his brother, grabbing his guitar from its stand and handing it to Lucien. "You know it's not plugged in right now, right?"

Gabe frowned and mocked him under his brother. “You’re not plugged in!” Lucien snapped and took the cord along with the guitar to Gabe. 

Gabe smiled brightly as he took them happily, already starting to softly play something.

Michael chose to ignore Lucien, sitting himself down on the ground to listen to Gabe play, Balthazar choosing to do the same and Sam inching closer to the couch.

Gabe stared at Michael and stuck his tongue out before continuing his unknown rhythm. He opened his mouth before yawning and shaking his head. He smiled to himself and cleared his throat. 

_[“Step outside in the midnight rain. King and Queen of the streets again.. Got young blood running through our veins. And it keeps us numb like novocain”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-8hYtOo5S0) _

Sam smiled faintly, coming closer to sit on the arm of the couch.

_[“Alright- We can go all night. ‘Cause we got a whole lot of fight in us. And I see a long road, That we gotta follow.. Before tomorrow catches up”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-8hYtOo5S0) _

Gabe hummed on before coughing, quickly sitting up to cough and sputter into his arm. “Fuck I’m dying!”

Lucien laughed and almost fell into the mic stand, watching his brothers face turn red from choking. “Oh my god that was great” He whispered, wiping his face. 

Gabe cleared his throat and made a sputtering noise before sniffling. “Glad to know my near-death brings you joy”

"It does, truly," Balthazar joked, doing finger guns in his direction.

"Lucien, Balthazar" Cas snorted, shaking his head and leaning against Dean's side.

Sam covered his mouth as he laughed softly. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Gabe cleared his throat and shook his head. “Nope. I need CPR” He laughed and leaned back so his head brushed against Sam’s leg. He laid still and sighed, sticking his tongue out. 

“Talk about overdramatic” Dean smirked, shaking his head at the two of them.

“Oh you’re one to talk,” Sam scoffed, waving his brother off, blushing slightly at Gabe leaning on his leg.

Gabe grumbled a little as he took his strap off. “That hurt” Gabe complained and pouted, clearing his throat.

Sam snorted and looked down at him. “Need a cough drop or something?”

“No, I’m just bitching” He laughed and smiled softly. “But now I’ve lost the train of thought for this song” He hummed and squinted at nothing in particular and shrugged, sitting up again to almost stand up before falling back on his ass, his whole face going red. “Ah-“ He started, gripping his head. 

“That’s what you get for sitting upside-down” Lucien scolded. 

“Yeah- ..No shit” Gabe glared at him.

Michael scoffed and shook his head. “Well, you have fun with that.”

“In other news,” Balthazar cut in. “It’s almost lunch, so I want some damn food.”

“Pancakes!” Gabe yelled. 

“Gabe, that’s what you said three hours ago when eating breakfast” Lucien frowned at him, crossing his arms. 

“But..” He pouted. 

“Come on. Let’s make something healthy for once” He smiled widely, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I can help if you want,” Sam offered. “I wouldn’t call myself the best chef, but I can throw some things together.”

Gabe smiled and shrugged. “Tall. Kind. And can cook” He mumbled to himself and nodded before he turned to follow Lucien into their large kitchen.

“Yes, well, in the meantime, how’ve you two been doing?” Michael asked, directing his question to Dean and Cas.

Sam got up to follow after Gabe and Lucien, the conversation in the living room fading away as he entered the kitchen.

Dean smiled widely, wrapping an arm around Cas’ waist. “Amazing. Cas has finally started staying at my place and only come over to check on the place. We’ve got a few big things planned in the future but we can’t exactly..” Dean gestured with his hand. “I’d feel bad bragging about it when Gabe is going through what he’s going through” He frowned.

Michael nodded in agreement, sighing softly. “Yes, well, we’ve been doing our best to cheer him up.”

“Which there’d be no need for if she hadn’t been such a bitch,” Balthazar interjected in a bitter tone.

Cas frowned and huffed. “I can’t say I don’t agree, but I’d rather leave her in the past. She isn’t worth it.” He hummed in thought. “Maybe we should go out to dinner tonight, or see a movie. You guys have been on tour for a while, there can’t have been a lot of time to relax.”

“Not a lot” Lucien poked his head out of the kitchen before leaving Gabe and Sam to stand next to Balthazar. “We’ve been rushing our last few since it’s getting tiring and we really burned ourselves out. It’s not fun to play if you’re being forced” He shrugged.

“Hm. Well, it’s settled then. We’re all going out tonight,” Cas stated determinedly. “Suggestions?”

“Disney land!” Gabe screamed from the kitchen, noticing Sam’s flinch. “Sorry” He mumbled with a smile. 

“We’re not leaving the state!” Dean protested.

Sam gave him a small smile. “It’s alright.”

“No, no more traveling for a while,” Cas shook his head.

“We could go to a restaurant,” Michael suggested with a shrug.

“You really wanna go into public?” Gabe frowned and set the things he was working on down. “We nearly got murdered on our walk here” He frowned from the doorway.

“Ah.. right. So, Netflix then?” Michael laughed sheepishly, ducking his head a little.

“After lunch, if you’re all okay with that,” Cas nodded. “Lucien, aren’t you supposed to be helping Gabe and Sam?”

"I mean, yes, but when does any of my siblings actually want me around?" Lucien joked.

"All the time" Gabe grinned, jumping onto his brother's back. "You're not allowed to leave us- Michael sucks on drums"

"Get off of me!"

"Excuse me?" Michael laughed, backing up so that Lucien didn't run into him. "I'm not that bad on drums."

"Well, I mean.." Balthazar began tauntingly, sending a smirk in his direction.

"Shut the hell up."

Sam laughed and came out of the kitchen to lean against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. "You're one of the fan favorites, aren't you Lucien?"

“Nah, everyone really likes Gabe more” He admitted, looking back at his brother who was still climbing on him. “I think it’s because he’s the baby” He smirked. 

“Or maybe cuz I’m so hot” Gabe smirked widely, staring at his brother's grimaces. “Come on!” He frowned. 

“Well.. Your older siblings are a little better looking” Dean chuckled and smiled at Cas. 

“Well someone’s gotta way the cake and make everyone else look good” Gabe smirked, resting his elbows on Lucien’s shoulders.

Sam snorted, grinning brightly as he watched him. “And speaking of cake, sort of, are we gonna start making lunch?”

“Only if lunch is cake” Gabe grinned widely and hummed in appreciation of food. “Oh now I’m hungry”

“Come on” Lucien laughed and carried him to the kitchen.

Sam snorted and backed up more into the kitchen to wait for them. “What’re we planning?”

“Pancakes!” Gabe cheered. 

“Gabe, enough” Lucien laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam sighed a little in annoyance as he made yet another attempt to tuck his hair behind his ears, only to have it fall back into his face a few minutes later. "Dammit," he grumbled, stepping away from the kitchen counter to push it back again. "Remind me to start carrying hair ties."

Dean looked up from where he was sitting on the couch between Cas and Michael. “I thought you started doing that years ago” Dean called out to him. 

“Do you want one of mine?” Gabe asked, holding one up from his pocket. “If you don’t care about sharing things they’ve been in my hair and probably my mouth” He mumbled before smiling.

"I did, I just haven't thought about it for a while," Sam huffed, then sent Gabe a small smile as he hesitantly reached for it. "Uh, no, I don't mind. Thanks."

“I know the struggle. We’re kinda the only two who do” He laughed before taking the giant bowls of popcorn into the living room to give to his siblings.

"Fair," Sam shrugged, following him out while pulling his hair back into a small ponytail.

"Nice, movie snacks!" Balthazar grinned, moving to sit directly in front of the coffee table. "Give me food."

“God, fatass” Gabriel joked and gave him the bowl. 

“Someone obviously hasn’t seen a mirror in a while” Lucien mumbled as he searched for a movie. 

“Hey, the fans like my ass” Gabe laughed, an anxious smile still across his face as he glanced down and went back to the kitchen to get the other bowls.

"Knock it off Lu," Michael mumbled as he absentmindedly scrolled through Netflix. "Don't be a dick."

"Yeah Lu," Balthazar taunted, mouth full of popcorn.

"Gabe is still the favorite out of everybody, isn't he?" Sam pointed out, settling himself down in the recliner.

“That’s because he’s short” Lucien shrugged and grinned wickedly. 

“People also like me being short” Gabe shrugged as he gave a bowl to Michael and sat down with Sam, half atop of him before settling the bowl between his legs and stomach. 

Dean glanced up and stared for a while in confusion, contemplating whether or not he should ask.

Sam blinked rapidly, bringing his arms up to his chest to mess with his fingers anxiously. He glanced over at Dean, unsure of what to do.

"Fair, I guess," Balthazar grumbled, not entirely paying attention as he watched Michael sort through movies. "Jesus, are you planning to pick one soon? It's been like five minutes."

"Oh, I'm so sorry brother," Michael said monotonously, eyes never leaving the TV. "I'm trying to find something everyone will like."

"We'll figure something out- we'll watch it no matter what!" Lucien groaned.

"But it's gonna be funny, right?" Dean mumbled.

"What about a comedy show instead?" Gabe asked "John Mauleny is really good"

"What?" Lucien asked, looking at him for a split second before doing a double-take. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Sitting? Cas and Dean aren't gonna move. Neither are you and Michael. Plus, Balthazar is sitting between Dean and Michael. If I sit down there you're gonna kick me and use me as a footrest" Gabe grumbled. "And Sam's too tall, plus I'm not making him sit on the floor" 

"So defensive" Lu smirked, teasingly.

Gabe frowned and huffed. He stayed quiet before moving to the edge of the seat "Then I'll just go to my room and watch trash TV by myself" He muttered bitterly.

"You don't have to, I can- I can move over," Sam offered hastily, sitting up a little in the chair. "Or move to the floor, I don't mind the floor."

Gabe laughed a little and stood up too. "Please, I'm not making a guest sit on the floor. I remember a few manners mom taught us before she passed" He smiled brightly and put a hand onto his chest. "It's cool, you can sit in the chair. I just need to use the bathroom. I'll be back in a bit" He promised, forcing the bowl into Sam's hands before walking off.

"Hopefully Michael can pick a movie while you're gone" Lucien muttered softly.

"Fuck off," Michael muttered, glancing at him with an annoyed expression before continuing his scrolling. "You have any ideas?"

"Not Titanic," Balthazar said flatly.

"Ideas for what we should watch, movie-wise."

"Horror maybe?" Sam suggested with a shrug, adjusting his grip on the popcorn bowl. "I don't really care for them, but I know Dean likes some of them."

"How about something with snakes?" Balthazar asked with a smirk.

"Fuck. Off," Michael reinstated stiffly.

“Hey Michael, want me to go get Theo and Blaze?” Lucien teased, knowing he hated his pet snakes. “I think I saw some eggs in there last time I checked on them” He snickered.

Michael stopped what he was doing to look over at him, fixing him with an icy stare. "Don't you fucking dare Lucien."

"I think he really wants to see them," Balthazar snickered.

"Why are you teasing him?" Cas asked with a sigh, still smiling at them. "You know he doesn't like your pets."

"Are we talking about how Michael doesn't like the snakes?" Gabe asked with a small smirk, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Oh come now, he loves them" Lucien grinned widely.

"I like them, Theo's a cute thing" Gabe smiled widely. "Her scale's are white." He laughed, standing in the doorway, only to lean against the wall.

"At least someone does!" Lucien huffed and grinned at Michael before turning to Gabe. "Come and sit down" He smiled.

"No, I'm good. I've got an idea for a song so I might ditch out to do that" He mumbled, glancing back down the hall and shrugged.

"Aw come on, you've spent the last year basically on tour performing and you wanna sing more?" Michael protested.

"Come on. Take a break," Cas insisted, gesturing around as he rested his head on Dean's shoulder. "We were just about to pick a movie."

“Nah- I might uh.. join in a bit. This has been itching at me for a while” He shrugged. “I gotta do it, you know?” He laughed a little. 

“Gabe. Seriously.. Please come and take a break” Dean frowned at his friend. 

“Alright, gimme a sec to get a notepad so I can write during the movie. I’ll be back I promise” Gabe smiled and left into the hall again. 

“I swear” Lucien mumbled softly. 

Gabe grinned as he came back and glanced at Sam, quickly sitting at the table with Balthazar to begin writing. True to his word, Lucien nudged him with his feet every few minutes and liked to kick him. Sometimes he’d lean over to kick Michael’s leg as well.

Michael grumbled under his breath in annoyance, squinting at his brother. “Why do you always do this?” he asked in a hushed tone.

Lucien snickered and shrugged, placing his feet on Gabe’s shoulder. 

“That’s it” Gabe muttered, shoving his feet off of him to stand up and come back to Sam, sitting at his feet. He stared at the paper with his writing with an angry face before scribbling more phrases down.

Sam glanced over at him, then leaned forward a little to talk to him without interrupting the movie. “What’re you writing about?”

Gabe glanced up and smiled, pressing the pen up to his lips. “It’s a secret” He mumbled against the pen before winking and turning back around.

Sam held back a small laugh, tilting his head as he moved forward a little more. “Just a hint?” he joked, still not looking at the book.

Gabe hummed and shook his head, moving to sit on the chair with Sam again. “Remember when you wouldn’t tell me what you wanted? This is payback” He smirked and flipped the page to start sketching out guitar notes.

“Aw come on, no fair, I don’t want anything,” Sam laughed quietly, then went quiet again as he watched him in confusion. He sat for a moment, then took a pen out of his pocket and drew a tic tac toe board.

Gabe jumped and stared at the paper in confusion before looking at Sam. He glanced back down and took the pen to draw an X, hoping he understood Sam’s antics.

Sam took it back, drawing an O in one of the spaces, then handed it back to Gabe.

Gabe laughed a little and took the pen to draw in another X, creating two in a row.

A smile slowly spread itself across Sam’s face as he drew another O to block off Gabe’s row.

Gabe pouted and took the pen back, staring at the page with a frown before adding an X in the corner so had two ways of winning even if Sam blocked him off. He smirked and handed the pen back to Sam.

Sam pursed his lips as he took the pen, staring for a second before placing a third O.

Gabe immediately filled in his three in a row afterward before drawing a line through it to prove he won. He looked back at the movie with a blank expression, gently tapping the pen against his jaw before actually getting back to working on his notes.

Sam stuck his bottom lip out, nose wrinkling as he tapped the pen to get his attention.

Gabe stared at his hand before looking up at Sam with a confused expression. “What?” He whispered softly, setting the pen down.

“Rematch,” Sam insisted, keeping his voice low so he didn’t talk over the movie.

Gabe laughed a little louder and covered his mouth. “No, I’ve gotta work” Gabe mumbled with a smile. “Maybe in a bit”

Sam cocked his head. “Please?”

Gabe bit his lip to keep from laughing before shaking his head. “In a bit” He repeated, poking the end of the pen up to Sam’s bottom lip. He turned back to his page and began to write again.

Sam blinked a couple of times, then leaned forward a little to watch him work.

He sighed heavily as he tapped on the page with his pen before glancing around the room. He carefully moved away from Sam with his book and crept from the room without a word, down to their recording stupid. 

Lucien perked up and noticed with a frown. “I’ll get him if he’s gone for over twenty minutes”

Sam frowned a little and nodded, leaning back into the chair.

Michael turned his head towards Lucien, then to the hall. “He’s still working?” He asked with a sigh. “He’s going to burn himself out one day.”

“He’s already done it once before and he couldn’t do anything for eight days straight but lay around and mumbled slurs. I really don’t understand his logic” Lucien mumbled and stayed still, minutes later falling asleep on his arm propped up on the couch.

Michael nodded to himself, letting him rest nearly half an hour before he nudged him. “He’s still in there.”

Cas pressed his lips together. “Will he even listen if any of us tells him to relax?”

Lucien grumbled and smacked Michael in the stomach before settling into the couch again. “Get his boyfriend to do it” He muttered, closing his eyes again.

“Huh?” Michael uttered in confusion.

“Fucking- Sam you dumbass, make Sam do it. He’d obviously listen to him if he’s willing to do anything for him” Lucien snapped, glaring at Michael for waking him again before turning back to sleep.

Sam’s head shot up. “I- what? Why would he listen to me? We hardly know each other, I just caught his guitar pick for him.”

“Worth a shot, isn’t it?” Cas asked, gesturing to the hall before returning his hand to Dean’s shoulder.

Dean shrugged and smiled. “Face it, you don’t get a choice” Dean laughed.

“So get your ass moving,” Balthazar scoffed, waving a hand to him.

Sam sighed through his nose, looking down the hall before standing up and heading in the direction Gabe had gone.

“No- no, no” Gabe muttered from down the hall a little ways. “Yes..” He paused for a few moments before he began playing a light-hearted guitar beat. He quickly stopped it and began groaning again. The music picked back up again with a gasp and a few more notes. “That’s good, that’s good” He rambled to himself outside of the door.

Sam paused a moment, hand hovering next to the door as he listened before hesitantly knocking. "Gabe?"

Gabe remained quiet a few more seconds before beginning to play again, carrying the tune for a much longer time. “Yes!” He near screamed, standing up so fast the chair could be heard scraping on the floor. He continued playing after he stood and counted the beats, writing a number quickly down before continuing. 

_[“Shut up! Count your calories.. I never looked good in mom jeans- Wish I. Was like you, blue-eyed blonde perfect body. Maybe I should try harder. You should lower your expectations”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmhvb2v3Cvo) _

Sam almost knocked again, then stayed still for a moment to listen in. He tilted his head after a while and tried knocking again.

Gabe nodded along, headphones secure on his head as he continued. _[“I’m no quick-curl barbie. I was never cut out for prom queen. If I get more pretty, do you think he will like.. me?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmhvb2v3Cvo)_ He paused again to stop playing and stare at the glass window in the sound room, staring at the sound buttons with a frown.

Sam waited a little longer before gently pushing the door open, poking his head into the room. "Gabe?"

Gabe glanced to the door and perked up, unable to hear him but able to see him. He pulled the headphones off his ears and set his guitar down to open the glass door diving the rooms. “Hey, sorry. Soundproof” He shrugged and gestured to the door with a smile. “Are you.. lost?” He asked before setting the headphones on the table.

Sam laughed nervously and shook his head. "Uh, no, no, not lost. Lucien told me to come get you. Everyone's kinda worried about you working all the time."

Gabe scoffed with a laugh, almost snorting. “Nah, I’m alright” He grinned widely before smiling a little softer. “Are you sure you just don’t want that rematch in tik tac toe?” He quipped, lips curling devilishly as he teased Sam.

Sam smiled sheepishly, ducking his head down a little as he inched into the room. "I mean, great as that sounds, you've probably got better things going on in that book."

Gabe shrugged, leaning back against the table to push the book further behind him. “..I don’t know. Playing stupid paper games with a stranger is kind of refreshing when you’re just trying to draw guitar notes and he makes a tik tac toe board with it” Gabe mumbled.

Sam paused, mouth dropping open a little. "Shit, those were your notes? I'm.. so sorry about that," he rambled, taking a step back.

“What? Don’t be sorry” Gabe laughed loudly. “It was funny! Besides, you’re cute when you’re pouty” He grinned as he took his book and walked past Sam into the hall.

Sam's face flushed a little as he followed him. "Uh.. thanks," he laughed softly. "Still, I didn't mean to mess up your work."

“Do you ever stop apologizing?” He teased Sam, setting his book on the kitchen counter before turning to Sam. “And you can’t say sorry as your answer”

Sam opened and closed his mouth, then shrugged a little with a hesitant smile. "Not really, no."

“Well change that. Not everything is your fault” He stared blankly at Sam before climbing back onto the counter to sit on the island. “I liked what you did” He smiled.

Sam shrugged again, messing with his hands as he leaned against the wall opposite the island. "Don't let me mess up your work, though," he insisted.

Gabe glared at Sam and leaned over to be closer to him. “Stop that” He muttered.

"Stop.. what?" Sam uttered, bringing his hands closer to his chest.

“Feeling.. sorry for yourself. Thinking everything is your fault and thinking all you do is wrong” He frowned at Sam and glanced at the wall before his eyes came back to Sam. “You’re a smart kid. You’ll figure out how. Or I’ll just have to beat it into your thick skull” Gabe laughed, cocking his head.

Sam snorted and shook his head. "Might have to. Dean's been trying for a while now." He sighed a little and glanced at him. "I'm trying though. Sort of. Kind of."

“Try harder!” Gabe shouted and laughed before looking at his book. “Care for another game?” He asked, opening the book.

Sam laughed. "Sure, let's do it," he agreed, moving over to the table and leaning over on it.

“Okay, do you wanna start?” Gabe asked, boxing off a section of already drawn guitar notes.

Sam shrugged, drawing in the lines and placing an X in the corner box, then handing the pen back to Gabe.

Gabe smiled and put an O in the center square, smiling to himself.

Sam hummed a little, then wrote another X in the corner square below his first one.

Gabe frowned and watched before putting a circle in his corner to block off his three in a row

Sam let his tongue rest between his teeth in thought as he put an X in the third corner to block Gabe's three in a row.

Gabe frowned and put an O in between Sam’s X to block him off. He smiled and offered the pen back to him.

Sam laughed a little as he blocked off Gabe's next three in a row, handing the pen back. "Think this is a draw."

Gabe nodded and took the pen back to twiddle between his fingers. “I’ll let you win this time” He giggled.

"No, don't do that," Sam snorted, shaking his head before smiling softly up at him. "It's just tic tac toe."

“Exactly. Nothing but a pointless game” He grinned softly and moved away from him to climb off the counter.

“Right,” Sam laughed a little and stood up straight, no longer leaning over the counter. “So, um.. care to join us for the rest of the movie?”

“Oh my god they’re watching a movie” Gabe whispered before laughing. “I forgot” He snorted.

Sam laughed then gestured to the living room. “Well? Not too late to head back in.”

“Nah.. They’re all half asleep anyway” He mumbled. “Wanna chill in my room until you gotta leave?” He smiled brightly.

Sam smiled back at him and nodded, starting to walk but then pausing. “Uh.. you should probably lead the way,” he laughed awkwardly.

“Oh yeah,” Gabe laughed softly and grabbed his book from the counter. “I should give you a tour some time” He grinned. “Follow me” Gabe teased and led him through the house, heading for a set of spiral stairs.

Sam followed close behind him, staring around as they walked. “You know, I’ve been over here before,” he noted, mostly to himself. “But I’ve never thought to look around more.”

Gabe blinked as he began climbing the stairs. “I didn’t know you’ve been here before” He admitted and smiled. “Makes sense though. But you didn’t know it was where I got your ‘favorite band’ lived” He used air quotes with his fingers as he stood at the top of the stairs.

“I did not,” Sam snorted and sighed. “But to be fair, it hasn’t been that long really since we’ve known Cas. Or not like, years or anything.”

“Oh, so I guess you weren’t missing out on a lot there” Gabe grinned and glanced back at Sam. “So I guess it’s a good thing Dean has only been seeing Cas for a while. And don’t worry, Dean was nervous around us for the first few weeks too” He smirked knowingly before walking down the hall.

Sam gave a small smile and nodded. “Yeah, I don’t doubt it. Neither of us are uh, smooth, exactly, when it comes to meeting people we look up to.”

Gabe had to snort out loud as he walked, pausing to look up at him. “Sam. You can’t look up to me” He mumbled.

“Why- why not?” Sam gave him a confused look. “I mean, you’re a great person, both to your fans and from what I’ve seen since I’ve officially met you.”

“No- Sam..” Gabe paused and smiled. “Thank you. But I meant I’m too short for you to look up to me” He grinned.

Sam laughed, holding a hand over his mouth to try and stay quiet. “Ah, well, all you need's a pair of stilts and I’ll be able to.”

“Or just sit down, I know I’m skilled but I’m not a clown in a circus” He mumbled softly, opening the door to his room to reveal a rather dark room, windows covered by curtains or blankets and a small bed in the corner. He glanced back at Sam before sitting at his desk next to the bed, putting his book down.

Sam stood awkwardly in the door for a moment before wandering inside, looking around at his surroundings. “Is every room bigger than mine?” He joked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Gabe glanced around and felt a little guilty before shrugging. “If it would make you more comfortable, we could hang out at your place next time” Gabe offered. “We don’t have to, I’m just saying if you wanted to”

Sam turned to him, mouth hanging open for a second. “Uh, I mean- I mean, yeah, sure if you- if you’re sure,” he stuttered. “Um, it’s pretty cramped though, I wasn’t saying this was bad, um.. I’ll shut up now.”

Gabe laughed a little and glanced at Sam’s nervous posture. “Sorry. I guess that was pretty straight forward” He admitted, rubbing his cheek. A guilty habit. “We don’t have to if you aren’t comfortable with it. You know you can be honest with me, right?” He tilted his head a little and smiled at him.

Sam ducked his head, smiling sheepishly. “I-I didn’t say that, just uh, most people don’t like being there since there’s not a lot of room.. mostly because, uh, I uh, have a lot of books.. Everywhere.”

Gabe’s eyes lit up a little as he tried to contain himself. “..What..kind of books?” He asked softly and smiled. “Do you have Dante’s Inferno..?” He asked before his face lit up too. “Please say you do” He whispered softly, standing up excitedly.

“Um.. yeah, actually,” Sam blinked in surprise, then grinned. “All three, actually, I just finished them again a couple of weeks ago. I have a lot of stuff like that, and mythology and uh, true crime.. History.”

“Do you have books on angels?! And god please tell me you have books on lycanthropy!” He shrieked, bouncing quickly on his feet.

“Yeah! I’ve got angels, demons, a lot of lore type books, um.. there’s a few that are just monsters from America, but I’ve also got some on Egyptian gods, and Greek and Roman,” Sam rambled, hands waving as he talked. “I think my favorites are the crime ones honestly, but that’s been more recently. Hell, I got an Enochian dictionary.”

“I actually know Enochian! For the like- one semester of college” He laughed. “Thanks, online college courses” He mumbled before smiling at Sam. “You’ve gotta let me borrow some books some time” He begged, looking up at Sam. “I’ll do anything” He joked again.

Sam laughed brightly and beamed down at him. “Absolutely! If you want to pick them out yourself, feel free to stop by. Just uh, warn me so I can clean a little.”

Gabe laughed and gestured to his room. “Please, I’m okay with the mess. But, I don’t have your number” Gabe mumbled a little and smiled shyly at Sam.

“Right.. uh..” Sam let himself trail off as he grabbed a pen from Gabe’s desk, scribbled a number on the corner of his notes so he didn’t mess anything up, and backed away. “There. Now you do.”

Gabe grinned as he glanced back at the page with the tic tac toe board. “Thanks” He mumbled and smiled back at Sam. “Even though I’ve got my phone right here on me”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not gonna lie we have up to chapter 13 ready, we just suck at posting

Gabe 2:17 AM: ya ever just make ramen with coffee?

Gabe 3:40 AM: i think i can feel the way colors feel

Gabe 4:34 AM: YO THE VACCUM LOOKED LIKE A GUY STANDING OVER MY BED

Gabe 5:13 AM: i’ve got this cool idea for a song but i feel like it’s trash because it is ahaha

Gabe 6:48 AM: i feel drunk 

Gabe 7:20 AM: i think i’m gonna go to bed but idk yet man

Gabe 8:12 AM: okay night dude

Sam 8:30 AM: Gabriel wtf

Sam 8:31 AM: Did you stay up all night??

Sam 8:31 AM: Why????

Gabe 10:36 AM: i did

Gabe 10:39 AM: for two hours, now i’m making eggs and syrup

Sam 10:40 AM: Eggs and syrup??

Gabe 10:42 AM: scrambled eggs and syrup ??? 

Gabe 10:44 AM: uncultured swine

Gabe 10:45 AM: Sent an image

Sam 10:49 AM: Ew

Sam 10:49 AM: Gabe why

Sam 10:50 AM: I had toast and eggs, I’d show you but I ate them already

Gabe 11:40 AM: i fell asleep

Gabe 11:42 AM: did you just ew me ???

Gabe 11:43 AM: for that, i’m putting mustard in my spaghetti o’s

Sam 11:44 AM: N O WHY

Gabe 11:46 AM: Sent a video

Gabe 11:47 AM: bone apple teeth

Sam 11:49 AM: You made me watch that with my own eyes

Sam 11:50: I regret having vision

Gabe 11:58 AM: nah, you’ve seen my face

Gabe 11:59 AM: there’s much worse to see

Sam 12:03 AM: Doubt it, wouldn’t call your face a bad thing to look at

Sam 12:04 AM: Are you gonna be hungry after your mustard monstrosity?

Gabe 12:09 PM: no? probably 

Gabe 12:10 PM: yeah i’m already done and hungry

Gabe 12:12 PM: i’m needing some coffee rn oh geez

Sam 12:14 PM: Wanna go out to eat with me?

Message read 

Gabe blankly stared at his phone before quickly standing up, immediately running to Michael’s room to throw the door open. “I need relationship advice!”

Michael jumped in shock. “What? For what?”

Gabe flushed a little and slowly walked over to offer his phone to him.

Michael squinted a little as he read, then nodded in understanding. “Ah. Do you like him?” He asked, smirking softly.

Gabe made a face and sat down on the edge of the bed with him. He’d only known Sam for about a month, but it didn’t change the fact of the matter. “..I’m coming to you instead of Lucien, aren’t I?” He frowned.

Michael dropped his smirk and nodded seriously. “I know. What do you need to know?”

Gabe shrugged and stared at the phone. “..How do I not fuck up?” He asked softly, remembering how his past relationships ended.

Michael sighed a little. “Well.. in my opinion? Listen to each other, for one thing. Goes for the both of you.”

“I know- and we do. We both listen a little too much and make sure the other is comfortable like.. every time we see each other” He mumbled and brought his knees up to his chest to continue staring at his phone. “..What do I do?” He grumbled.

Michael tilted his head. “If you want to go, I suggest going. He wouldn’t ask if he didn’t want you to come with him.”

“I know, I-“ Gabe paused and sighed. “..He’s gonna be chased around like we are and be all over social media and I don’t know how he would feel about it..” He mumbled. “I’m afraid if I tell him he’ll change his mind..”

Michael smiled a little and reached to squeeze his shoulder. “You’ll never know if you don’t at least try, you know.”

Gabe frowned and nodded as he carefully took the phone and called Sam. He pressed it to his ear and smiled at Michael before walking to the doorway, making his way down the hall.

It continued ringing for a moment before Sam picked up. “Hey! So lunch?” he asked, a twinge of hope in his voice.

“..Yeah” Gabe mumbled, anxiously walking to his room to lay on his stomach on the bed. “I just feel like this is something I need to talk to you about..” He mumbled. “Over the phone” He whispered softly.

There was a pause. “Oh?” Sam’s voice suddenly came through, urging him to go on.

“Well I’m.. You know...” Gabe mumbled and laid his head down. “..People might come up and talk to me. Or you.. and you might.. end up online a lot and people are gonna think.. we’re...” Gabe sighed and rubbed his eyes. “..dating”

“Well.. I kinda expected that,” Sam responded with an anxious laugh. “But I mean, I’ll be fine, really.”

“Really?” Gabe asked, a little surprised before he hesitated. “I mean.. if you ever change your mind you know you can, right?” He mumbled softly.

Sam paused. “I’m not used to getting attention, but.. I think I’ll be okay.”

“..I don’t think it’s a good idea” He whispered after a few beats. He stared at the sheets and began wrapping his fingers in the blanket.

“Oh,” Sam responded quietly, pausing a moment. “.. I don’t see what’s so wrong about it.”

Gabe stared at the wall before rolling onto his back, propping his get up against the wall. “You’re not going to stop until I agree, are you?” He smiled softly now.

“Mm, no, probably not,” Sam laughed, then quieted. “So..?”

Gabe smiled and stared at his ceiling with the neon lights, watching the colors fade back and forth between yellow and red. “..Yes” Gabe whispered after awhile

“Awesome!” came the cheery reply. “I can come get you if you want. Unless you just want to meet somewhere.”

Gabe laughed and glanced at his wall. “..Uh, whatever’s best for you” Gabe mumbled and sat up to look at himself in the mirror. “How long do you think it will take to get here?”

There was a pause as Sam thought. “Probably.. fifteen, twenty-five minutes? Give or take.”

“Perfect amount of time to put pants on” Gabe mumbled. “Well, new ones anyway” He mumbled and shuffled around. “So I’m gonna.. Let you go- and I’ll uh.. get ready” Gabe laughed nervously.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon,” Sam said, then ended the call.

Gabe chuckled softly, holding the phone to his ear before letting it fall onto his bed. He hummed as he stood up and walked down the hall again, walking silently into Michael’s room to flip onto his bed, face-first into the pillow.

Michael glanced at him, then set his laptop to the side. “What’d you say?” he asked, setting a hand on his arm.

Gabe rolled his head to the side, smiling widely with a bright blush. “..I’ve got twenty minutes” He mumbled and smiled at the bedsheets.

Michael smiled and tilted his head. “Well, what’re you waiting for? Go on and get ready!”

“I know exactly what to wear!” Gabe gasped and stood up. “Hold up-“ Gabe mumbled, leaving to come back ten minutes later in light blue skinny jeans that hugged his ass perfectly. He spun around once before standing in the middle of the room. “How’s it look?” He mumbled, adjusting one of Balthazar’s shirts on himself.

Michael looked him up and down, then nodded. "I see you're still stealing our shirts, but not the point. It looks good," he laughed, then stood up from his bed. "I'd tell you to be home at a certain time, but you don't have a curfew."

Gabe snorted. “Are you doing anything tonight?” He asked, wondering to Michael’s closet to look around for jackets.

"Hm, doubt it," Michael shrugged, then grimaced. "Avoid Lucien, mostly. He's been letting his snakes out." He shook his head.

“But I like his snakes” He laughed and glanced at one sitting outside his doorway. “Hey, Mikey..” He mumbled, pointing to the door.

Michael glanced down and stumbled back, then jumped up on his bed. "Get it out! Get it away!!" he shrieked, huddling in the corner of his bed next to the wall.

Lucien appeared, looking at Michael and then down at Theo. “There she is!” He grinned and gently picked her up, letting her wrap around his arm. “Thanks, Mikey, now if you could find Blaze..” He mumbled and walked down the hall. 

Gabe glanced at Michael before hearing the doorbell ring. “Ah, shit” He mumbled.

Michael shuddered a little, staying in his corner. "Go on, get out of here, before Lu and Balth ask where you're going."

Gabe laughed and walked from his room. “Good luck with Blaze” He joked as he made his way down the stairs, getting his phone first and slipping on shoes before making his way downstairs. He took a breath and noticed the small snake behind the couch, quickly catching him. He smiled and let him wrap around his fingers before opening the door to find Sam.

Sam grinned as he opened the door. "Hey- that your brother's snake?" he asked as he noticed the snake. "Bet Michael's thrilled."

“Oh-“ He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, Michael screamed and jumped on his bed” He mumbled. 

“Blaze!” Lucien grinned and took him from Gabe’s fingers. “There’s the father to be” He mumbled and walked down the hall to the stairs. 

“Oh yeah, we’re having snake babies” He mumbled and looked up at Sam. “Um.. ready?” He asked with a nervous smile.

"Ready," Sam nodded with a grin, waving to Lucien as he backed up to let Gabe out the door. "Do you have any favorite places to go around here?"

“Not really” Gabe admitted and walked out of the door, smiling at him as he walked past. “Where do you wanna go?” He asked, walking down the hallway to the elevator.

Sam hummed in thought. "There's a taco place, pizza, a cafe. The cafe's pretty good, honestly. I like their omelets."

“I could go for a coffee” Gabe mumbled, stretching the bags under his eyes before quickly taking Sam’s hand to pull him further in the elevator. “Sorry- It’s a stupid thing that’s dented from the time Lucien uh.. anyway, you have to come closer or else it’ll catch your shirt or arms” Gabe laughed softly, steadily letting go of his hand.

Sam smiled a little and nodded, nervously inching closer to his side. "Causing a little collateral damage, huh?" he joked, hands fidgeting. "Dean used to kick doors in."

Gabe laughed and rubbed the door near the bottom. “He got a shopping cart and Balthazar pushed him into the door and- for one, he fit me, and then the door. And it hurt a lot more than the door” He muttered, rubbing his left shoulder. “I’m surprised I didn’t break anything” He laughed.

Sam winced a little in sympathy, laughing softly. "I'm glad you didn't, breaking bones isn't a fun experience. Or breaking anything else by falling against it, for that matter."

Gabe laughed as the doors opened, pointing to the one that didn’t want to open all the way. “I’m glad too, but I didn’t want you getting caught in the doors” He mumbled and walked to the glass doors, pushing them open. “Come on, you’re so slow” He laughed.

Sam snorted, putting one hand in his pocket as they left the building. He gestured to his car that was parked alongside the sidewalk. "It's a little further away if you're walking, I figured we'd drive."

“I don’t care” He smiled and followed Sam, opening the passenger door. “It’s not like I don’t drive anywhere else” Gabe shifted to sit down and close the door behind him, pulling on the right fabric of his pants anxiously.

Sam slid into the driver's seat, pulling his seatbelt across his chest before turning the key and glancing over at Gabe. "You okay?"

Gabe nodded as he buckled in and looked at Sam. “Just.. nervous? Maybe” He shrugged, realizing how cold Sam’s car was before rubbing his arms a little. “Friends don’t usually.. last long when we hang out” He admitted with a frown. “So if I ever seem distant or just don’t care I’ve kinda taught myself to not get attached too soon” Gabe smiled and watched Sam’s face. Too late for that.

Sam tilted his head a little, then nodded slowly. "I can understand that," he sighed, looking at the road as he started to drive. "I've really liked spending time with you, though."

“I have too! And I know I haven’t acted excited about going into public but it’s a struggle..” He mumbled softly. “I love my work, but sometimes I just wanna sit and read a book in public without someone wanting to talk..” He pouted.

"Yeah," Sam sighed, smiling at him for a moment before turning back to the road. "You could always wear a wig," he teased. "Go undercover."

Gabe scoffed and glared at Sam. “Absolutely not” He mumbled. “If I’m found out I’ll look ridiculous” He mumbled, taking a hand away from his arm to try and turn the heat on instead, getting blaster with even colder air. “Dude, what is wrong with your car?” He whined, turning it back to the warmer version of cold to rub his arms.

"Uh.. I need to get it fixed. I didn't want to bother Dean," Sam laughed awkwardly. "There's a blanket in the back seat if you want it. Right behind your seat."

“Nah. I’ll be alright, but maybe I can help your mechanic issue” He smiled. “Lucien used to dabble. Mostly in the electoral part more than the actual.. machinery” He shrugged.

"Ah, I'll be okay," Sam said, shaking his head lightly. "It's a little warm out anyway, I'll deal with it." He smiled as he pulled into a parking lot. "Shall we?"

“We shall” Gabe grinned widely and unbuckled to climb out, still pouting that it wasn’t as warm as he had hoped. “I must warn you though. I might fall asleep randomly throughout the day” Gabe mumbled, walking ahead of Sam to pause and look over his shoulder as he waited.

Sam locked the car before following after him. "That's alright, you did only have, what, two hours of sleep today?" he pointed out. "You'd better go to sleep tonight."

“Around three or four” He laughed and followed him in afterward, standing anxiously. “I’m just having a bad day” He admitted, swaying back and forth as he squinted at the menu.

Sam frowned and stepped closer, putting his hands on each of Gabe's shoulders to steady him. "Do you just want to sit for a second?"

Gabe immediately jumped, shoulders dropping afterward. “Nah.. kinda.. If I do will you order me something sweet with like four shots of espresso?” He smiled softly, pushing his card into Sam’s hand. “Thanks, good talk Samson” He grumbled before finding a booth next to the bookshelves on the wall.

Sam glanced at him before nodding and heading up to the counter, ordering for the both of them before walking over to the booth to wait for their orders. "I got food too. How're you feeling?"

Gabe looked up from his book and carefully closed him. “Sick” He laughed. “I couldn’t sleep, but I’m tired. I feel sick because I’ve eaten too much or too little and I’m really cold still” He laughed.

Sam gave a worried smile, then took off his jacket and handed it across the table to him. "I can fix maybe two of those things. You should try some of my omelette when it gets here, they make them pretty good."

Gabe smirked victoriously as he slid on the oversized jacket and bundle himself up into it. “I don’t know. Healthy isn’t my thing” Gabe laughed loudly, holding the jacket up to his nose.

"Yeah, well, maybe it'll help your stomach," Sam pointed out, crossing his arms and smiling at him. "Couple bites at least?"

He shrugged and smiled. “Alright. I’ll try it just once” Gabe mumbled and laid his head down on the table to stare into the wall. “But if I don’t like it I’m not eating it” He chuckled and closed his eyes on instinct.

"Fair enough," Sam snorted and shrugged, thanking the waitress as she brought their orders and left. "Got your drink too, by the way."

Gabe perked up at the sugary plastic cup in front of him and brought it closer to lick the whipped and caramel off first. “You have no idea how much this means to me” He whispered, smiling widely. “Thank you”

Sam grinned and nodded. “It’s no problem. Now,” he continued, pushing the plate to the middle of the table, “try to eat something.”

Gabe laughed and stared at Sam’s bowl before shrugging. “Fuck it” He mumbled and took a small bite, making a face before having to force himself to swallow it. “Hot-“ He complained before laughing.

Sam snorted, picking at the food with his own fork. "Just a bit?" he laughed, taking a bite. "Good or no?"

“Maybe if I still had taste buds,” Gabe said flatly before messing with the sleeves of Sam’s jacket.

"Psh, fine, I'll decide for you," Sam scoffed, taking another bite. "It's good."

Gabe had to laugh at that, smiling at Sam. “You’re something else, Sam” He mumbled, immediately flinching and leaning back when someone took a picture with a flash on. He blinked and waved to the fan as they walked past. “Ow,” He half-joked.

Sam smiled a little and raised an eyebrow. "They know they can just ask, right?" he asked.

“No” He mumbled and glanced at the giant window to find someone taking a video. “Ready to be internet famous?” He asked with a flat smile.

Sam shrugged a little and continued to pick at his food. "I'm sure someone recorded me giving you your pick back, so.. more internet famous," he pointed out, giving a half-smile.

Gabe snorted, staring at Sam’s face before his smile dropped. “I’m wearing your jacket” He muttered and groaned, rubbing his face. “Dammit..” He started before sighing. “Oh well, I’m not giving it back”

"Tch, thief," Sam teased, shaking his head as he laughed. "Don't worry about it. I've got others." He continued eating his food before pulling out his wallet. "I'll pay."

“What? Hell no” Gabe glared and frowned at him. “I already handed you my card before we sat down” He complained. “Use mine”

"Gabe, seriously," Sam shook his head, "It's not a big deal."

“You’re right, so I can pay for it” Gabe smiled brightly at Sam.

"Yeah, well, I'm already going to the counter so I guess we'll see," Sam smirked, then started walking faster.

“Hey!” Gabe laughed and stood up to run after him, stopping at the check out when he ran into him. He took ahold of Sam’s arm in both his hands as he waited. He smiled happily, swiping his card before Sam could even move his hand.

Sam tried to tug his arm out of Gabe's grip, laughing. "Wait, no! Gabriel!"

Gabe and the barista both laughed as he took the paper to sign. “What?” He smiled, leaving a tip before sliding the paper back to her. “I told you I got it”

"You don't need to pay for everything," Sam snorted. "I'm not using you for free food."

“Well you should. I could retire, buy ten yachts and still be able to live until I’m eighty” Gabe mumbled with a laugh, tightening his grip on Sam’s arm. “Besides, I know college is expensive” He smiled softly.

"Yeah, but I'm dealing," Sam shrugged, then nodded to the door. "Are you ready then?"

“Yeah” Gabe mumbled, leading him to the door with a wide grin. “How are you always so warm?” Gabe frowned at him, glaring as he pushed open the door.

"I dunno, I just stay warm pretty easy," Sam shrugged with a laugh. "Most of the time."

Gabe scrunched up his face and glared at Sam. “Lucky bastard” He muttered.

“Not really, I die in the summer," Sam sighed, then smiled at him. "Are you cold still?"

“It’s okay, I like your car” He smiled, fingers slipping down to awkwardly graze Sam’s palm before pulling his hand away to walk to the other side of the car.

Sam smiled back, letting out a soft sigh as he unlocked the car and pulled his door open. "So.. where to now?"

“You pick” Gabe shrugged and turned the air off completely. “We can go anywhere you want”

"Well.. I'd suggest that library, but my apartment is basically my own personal one anyway," Sam joked, pulling out into the street.

“We could hang out there if you want” Gabe smiled. “Lay around and read”

“Sounds like a great time,” Sam grinned, nodding in agreement.

“What a date” Gabe snorted softly, glancing out the window to hide his red face. Loudmouth.

Sam glanced at him, smile still stuck to his face, then looked back at the road. “Very romantic, I know,” he laughed anxiously, biting his lip.

Gabe swallowed, laughing out a sigh as he stared out the window. He smiled anyway, thinking about what to say next. Maybe a bit too much because all he really doing was being quiet.

Eventually, Sam reached over to turn the radio up a bit, humming softly along to the song.

Gabe glanced at the radio and frowned, bringing one knee up to his chest to hug.

Sam glanced over at him a couple of times, chewing on his bottom lip. “Whatcha thinking?”

Gabe glanced at Sam and breathed out. What your lips would feel like against mine. “Uh.. food” Gabe laughed and smiled widely. “Mostly shit microwave stuff instead of actual food” He mumbled, glancing at Sam’s lips before looking ahead of them.

Sam paused, then laughed and nodded. “I’ll get you into more healthy things, mark my words,” he joked, fingers drumming on the steering wheel as he scanned the road.

“Your words are false” He muttered and smirked to himself.

“For now maybe,” Sam scoffed, turning towards his apartment and parking the car. “We’re uh, here. I need to get some laundry out of the living room so.. bear with me.”

Gabe laughed and smiled at him as he got out, carefully closing the door behind him. “Please. You should’ve seen the way my room looked before Cas cleaned it” He laughed.

Sam snorted, waiting for him next to the door before pushing it open. “Still.”

“I don’t mind” He promised and walked in, smiling at the books he could already see. He took one from the shelf and read it with a curious smile.

Sam placed his keys on a hook hanging from the wall, then looked over at him. “Find something you like already?”

Gabe looked up and shrugged, setting it back where he found it, immediately spotting one of his albums. “Nerd!” He teased, turning back to wave the case in the air.

“What? I like music,” Sam laughed as he approached.

“Hey so do I” Gabe laughed.

“No, really?” He snorted, shaking his head. “Hadn’t noticed.”

“Yeah! I have this small band” He laughed and set it back on the shelf. “We have so much in common. Like music.. and food” He mumbled sarcastically.

“I mean, books too,” Sam shrugged, looking up at his shelf, then back to Gabe. “Even then, sometimes opposites attract.”

“We’re pretty different” Gabe laughed, shuffling his feet around before looking at the other books in the shelf. He smiled widely as he read a few covers before putting them all back, just looking around

“So? Not a bad thing,” Sam shrugged, falling back against his couch.

“I never said it was a bad thing” Gabe grinned softly to himself before coming up next to Sam, sitting on one leg to face Sam. “You seem weird” He noted.

Sam blinked, shifting a little in his seat. “What do you mean?”

“Nervous. Like I am. Why are you nervous?” He asked before correcting himself. “We. Why are we nervous?”

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing,” Sam laughed, nervously. “Kinda. I don’t know. I’m.. stressing myself.”

“About what?” Gabe frowned. “I don’t want to be the reason you’re stressed out” He whispered.

“No, you haven’t done anything, I’m just.. overthinking again.” Sam shook his head. “What are you nervous about?”

“Just stuff. I want you to talk to me. I’ve done too much talking”

Sam hummed uncomfortably, then licked his lips. “I just.. I kinda...” He huffed as he stumbled over his words. “I mean, it’s fine if you don’t feel the same way,” he started again, talking quickly, “but I’ve kinda l-liked you for a while now, since we actually got to know each other.”

Gabe stared blankly before his eyes widened, a smile growing on his face. “Oh my god- I knew it!” Gabe declared with a wide grin. “You got me thinking I was going crazy for the first few weeks!”

Sam looked at him with wide eyes. “You knew?” he uttered, face growing redder. “Um.. I’m bad at.. hiding, sometimes,” he laughed softly.

“Well I didn’t know for sure” He corrected and smiled anyway. “I just kind of.. figured” He mumbled. “With all of the things you let slip and say. It’s cute though, I’ll admit” He teased Sam, leaning forward to pat his cheek.

Sam ducked his head a little in embarrassment, letting out a soft smile. “I wasn’t really planning to say anything, I wasn’t sure how you felt..”

Gabe smiled brightly as he shifted closer to hug Sam tightly around the neck. “Of course I do!” He grinned, lowering his voice just slightly. “I just thought I should wait because.. I tried dating a few fans once, but they didn’t care, ya know?” He mumbled, burying his face into Sam’s shoulder. “..I didn’t know your intentions”

Sam froze for a second, then relaxed and hugged him tightly back. “I’m not in it for the fame, I’m in it because I think you’re a great person.”

Gabe let out a deep sigh and yawn, nestling his way into Sam’s neck. “You’re pretty cool too Sampson” Gabe mumbled dopily.

Sam snorted, leaning his head against Gabe’s. “So.. we’re.. together now or..?”

Gabe tensed as he pulled away slowly to frown at Sam. “I.. I don’t know” He whispered, slowly taking his hands off of Sam. “I’m sorry, I know it’s shitty of me to drop this on and force you to tell me and then not want to be together but I.. I do- I do want to be together, I’m just scared and really doubtful it’ll go over well with the fan base and my own emotions. Because I do like you, I’m just not sure I want to make it official” He rambled on before stopping to look up at Sam with watery eyes. “I want to be with you.. eventually.. I’m sorry”

Sam took a moment to process, then shook his head. “You don’t have to be sorry, really,” he insisted, giving him a small smile. “We can wait a while.”

Gabe smiled widely at him and leaned forward to hug him again. “Thanks, Sam” He mumbled softly, picking at a thread in the couch before speaking again. “We can still hang out and like.. ya know?” He mumbled. “It took a lot of restraint to not touch you today” He complained.

Sam snorted. “I mean, you can if you want, to an extent anyway,” he shrugged. “I would like to hang out still, though.”

“Ew Sam!” He laughed and leaned up again. “I meant to hold your hand and just touch you. Nasty perv” He teased, poking Sam’s cheek. “Alright. We’ll continue to hang out. Maybe have a few dates and hopefully I’ll be able to commit..” Gabe frowned and took his hand away from Sam’s face. “I’m sorry. It just really isn’t a good time with knowing for such a small time and tour going on in at least three months..” He mumbled. “At the best, we’d be together as soon as I’d leave for nine months again” He frowned and bit his lip.

Sam nodded and sighed, tapping his leg a bit. “We could.. always come with you. In our own cars, obviously, but still.”

“..I’ll see what I can do” Gabe grinned and hesitated before pressing a soft kiss to Sam’s cheek. “Just. Don’t hurt me” Gabe smiled anxiously.

“Why would I want to do that? I care about you,” Sam assured him, brushing hair away from his face.

Gabe smiled widely and played with the zipper on Sam’s jacket. “Thanks, Sam..”


	5. Chapter 5

Gabe came in with a dopey smile on his face, leaning on their front door after they hugged goodbye. He shuffled away from the door to the upstairs, easily finding Michael in the man cave room, flopping down onto the couch to land on the book he was reading. He looked up at Michael and smiled childishly, not saying a word.

Michael glanced at him, raising an eyebrow before smiling along with him. “Should I assume all went well, then?” he guessed, setting his book aside.

Gabe giggled and pulled Sam’s jacket up to his nose to smell again. “..We’re.. something” He laughed and looked up at Michael. “I don’t think I’m ready..So when I told him, he said he would wait” Gabe giggled in that funny tone when you’re gossiping. “And then when I asked him to just not hurt me, he questioned why he would want to and said he cared about me” Gabe grinned, sitting up quickly to face Michael. “He’s like- actual husband material”

Michael snorted, head tilted as he grinned at him. “Well, you’re both still young, so I don’t know about a husband, but I believe he’s a good kid. Plus.. this is the happiest I’ve seen you for a while. About somebody else, I mean.”

“Really?” Gabe asked softly before grinning like a mad man. “He’s the one. I’m deciding right now- Going all in, take all my chips!” He laughed and flapped the sleeves of his jacket around. “He even let me steal his jacket! Like- legit steal!” Gabe beamed.

Michael laughed softly, putting a hand on his shoulder to settle him. “I can see that,” he said, still smiling. “So should we expect him over more often? Or you gone more often?”

“..Both?” Gabe mumbled and laughed a little. “Am I allowed to have him over?” He asked himself than Michael. “I’m nineteen. I can do that” He declared before freezing. “Where’s my phone?!” He shouted as he jumped over the back of the couch to sprint around.

Michael snorted, picking up his book again. “Pretty sure your room, if not on you.”

Gabe froze and pulled it from his jacket pocket. “Thanks, Mikey!” He yelled as he called Sam quickly, hoping he wasn’t in his car as he bounced up and down in the hallway, too excited to move.

“Hey Gabe,” Sam answered cheerily after a moment. “What’s up?”

“Come back- wait” He mumbled and laughed. “Would you like to stay the night- is what I’m asking. If you’re not already in your car, or if you are you can get clothes or- you don’t have to!” Gabe suddenly reassured, blushing like a dumbass. “I’m sorry. It’s up to you” He mumbled.

"Oh- yeah, yeah I'd love to," Sam laughed. "I'm almost back home, so I can just pick some things up before I head over."

“..Okay. Cool. Cool..” He mumbled slowly walking into his bedroom to lay down. “..Do you.. wanna share a bed?” He asked softly, face forced into a pillow after he asked.

There was a brief pause. "If.. if you want to, I know you said you didn't want to rush into anything, uh.. yeah, if you want to," Sam stuttered, then cleared his throat. "Let me just go get packed."

“I know I know” He mumbled and sighed. “I don’t want to do anything, I’m purely saying all I want to do is sleep beside you and if you wear a shirt, prepare for it to be stretched.

"Cool, cool," Sam laughed softly, pausing as he opened a door. "Ugh, where's my bag.. I'll be back over in.. maybe half an hour."

“Are you gonna have to hang up?” He whined, nearly rolling off his bed in annoyance. “I wanna continue talking” He pouted.

"I don't have to.. one sec." Another pause. "Okay, you're on speaker now."

Gabe grinned happily as he stood up to go to his couch downstairs. “Thanks.. you didn’t have to, but it makes me happy” He snorted and flopped onto his stomach, hugging a couch cushion close to himself.

"I know, and I like talking to you," Sam laughed. There were shuffling noises in the background as he got packed up.

“I’d hope you did” Gabe snorted and grinned. “There are some people who would kill to talk to me” Gabe teased.

Sam laughed. "They'd be pretty lucky to, that's for sure."

Gabe tried to hold back a small giggle, giving in to clear his throat. “You’re making me act like a little girl!” He complained.

Sam snorted, voice becoming clearer as he got closer to the phone with his bag. "Sorry. I'm all packed, though, so I'm ready to head over now."

“Hurry up” Gabe laughed teasingly, rolling onto his side. “I wanna kiss your dumb face” Gabe mumbled with a tired smile, even though Sam couldn’t see him.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sam laughed, pausing as he made his way back to his car. "Alright, on my way."

“You’re gonna make me cry” Gabe threatened.

"I'm going as fast as I can! twenty minutes, promise," Sam insisted as he started driving down the road.

“Fine” Gabe smiled. “Please be careful” He mumbled after a few seconds.

"I will, don't worry. My phone's still on speaker so I can drive safe," He promised.

“Okay good” Gabe smiled and stared at the wall before yawning and closing his eyes.

"Tired still?" Sam guessed.

Gabe hummed a little and curled up more. “No” He decided, zoning out of the conversation.

"Mhm," Sam hummed in disbelief, smiling to himself. "Well, I'm close to your place."

Gabe hummed again as he didn’t even reply this time, fingers tangling with his jacket’s strings.

Sam laughed softly to himself, arriving at the penthouse about ten minutes later. "Alright, are you asleep, cause I'm here."

Lucien stared at his brother’s phone with a blank expression before going to the door, opening it to stare at Sam. “Your boyfriend’s passed out” He mumbled and turned to stand in front of Gabe, staring down at him. “I’m gonna put my boa on him” He smirked a little and walked out of the door.

Sam snorted, hanging up the phone and walking inside. “How many snakes do you have?”

“Do you really wanna know?” Lucien asked, poking his head into the living room before walking off again, coming back shortly with a giant green snake wrapped around his arms and waist. He carefully moved it around until he got it onto Gabe’s stomach and let the snake flick its tongue against Gabe’s face. 

“Get Emerald off of me” Gabe mumbled after a few seconds.

Sam laughed, shaking his head. “It’s probably good that he likes them.. Michael would’ve freaked them out.”

“Half the snakes are mine” Gabe laughed and moved Emerald around so he didn’t roll on her before sitting up with her wrapped around him. “She is an emerald boa” He clarified, standing up carefully. “And she’s not supposed to be wrapping around me like this, but she always does because I’m small”

“Basically, she’s sizing him up to see if she can eat him” Lucien smiled at Sam.

“Ah,” Sam uttered. “Well, uh, maybe don’t let her do that, please?”

“Nah, she’s smart. If she wanted to do it, she’d do it by now” Gabe smiled and hooked her over his neck and shoulders so he didn’t have to hold her. “Wanna see a snake worth more than some cars?” Gabe asked with a wide grin.

“Sure?” Sam smiled, tilting his head. “How many snakes do you guys have?”

Gabe and Lucien shared a little and each looked off to start counting. 

“...Twenty?” Gabe paused and looked at Lucien. 

“Do you wanna count the alligator too?” Lucien mumbled.

“Alligator?” Sam echoed, eyes going wide.

“She’s a rescue-“ Gabe reassured. 

“She was put in a tote for most of her life so she’s fairly small. They thought she was a boy, but, nope. Her snout is at an angle from the box, so that’s even less room for her” Lucien shrugged.

“We sometimes go to schools for fun” Gabe shrugged. “With Rex the alligator, Emerald and Lily as well. Most of the reptiles are girls” He mumbled and smiled. “Do you wanna see Lily? She’s worth forth grand” Gabe beamed.

“Uh.. sure!” Sam laughed, shrugging. “Lead the way. I’m still not familiar with this place.”

Gabe smiled widely and held onto Emerald’s side as he walked into Lucien’s room to get Emerald back in her tank. 

“We keep the show animals in here” Lucien explained, gesturing to the alligator in the corner. “And it’s also used as the incubation room” He smiled, gesturing to the plastic containers with eggs in them. “I breed them- and will give them away” Lucien shrugged. “Sometimes I do online shipping, but I don’t like to”

“How are the hognose eggs?” Gabe asked excitedly, looking in the lid before carefully opening it.

“I think they’re doing fine. I had a few hypos and .. one? Albino”

“All I see is their heads poking out at me” Gabe laughed.

Sam smiled as he leaned over to get a better look. “How many do you usually get? I’ve seen a few videos of snakes hatching, but I don’t know much about them.”

“It can be between eight and twenty” Gabe mumbled, grabbing the tweezers to check on the albino. He frowned as he tried to move it, finding it non-responsive. “Hey, I think the albino didn’t make it” He looked up at Lucien. 

Lucien grumbled a little and frowned. “Um.. Give it another day or two. If it hasn’t hatched with its siblings we’ll take it out and see if it’s alive”

“Alright,” Gabe smiled and closed the lid again before pressing it back. “If we have stillborns or sudden deaths when they’re young we give them to Rex” He gestured to the corner and walked over to smile at the hissing gator. “Hello beautiful”

Sam stood up and followed after him to see. “Huh.. kinda just crossed my mind that I’ve never really seen a gator up close. Not counting zoos.”

“We’ve got some weird pets. I can’t thank Cas enough for feeding them and some of our friends for feeding them too” He smiled. before moving to Emerald’s tank, crouching down. “Here is Lily” He smiled and pulled her out of her tank, listening to her hiss “Oh please” He mumbled softly, gently pulling her up to hold her. He made a face and watched her hiss. 

“Here, she’s acting mean because she doesn’t know Sam” Lucien took her from Gabe and let her rest on his shoulders and hip.

“I figured” Gabe shrugged, gesturing with his hand, glancing down calmly once she struck him, tagging his finger.

Sam jumped a little and took a couple of steps back. “Should I uh, should I be worried?” he asked anxiously. “Are you okay?”

Gabe blinked and looked at Sam as blood dripped down his hand. “It’s alright, she just thinks I smell funny because I’m wearing your jacket. She’s just confused and upset” He brushed it off and wiped his hand on his jeans. “Normally I’d let people hold snakes, but this one is mine and she’s kind of bitchy” He nodded. “We don’t even let people hold at programs”

Sam took another step back, frowning worriedly. “You should get that cleaned up.. Please.”

Gabe frowned at him and rolled up his sleeves a little. “I’m fine” He mumbled, showing his finger that had stopped. “Swear” He grinned and widened his eyes when Lily struck him and began tightening. “Oh- okay” Gabe mumbled as Lucien helped to hand her to Gabe. “You’re gonna constrict me? Here lemme help you” Gabe laughed and looked at her. “Oh she is on tight” He mumbled and smiled at Sam. “She’s harmless”

“I-I think not but..” Sam stuttered, still staring at him. “Seriously are you okay? I don’t want you hurt.”

“Sam.” Gabe stayed more firmly. “I’ve had snakes since I was at least a teenager. I’m used to the bites and I know what to do in these situations” He smiled and looked at Lily before grabbing her jaw to flex, easily getting her out of his arm. “You need to calm down” He joked, letting her slither behind his shoulder, bundling up in Sam’s hood.

Sam let out a small smile, still shifting nervously. “I think I prefer the more docile ones. I like ball pythons.”

“We have one of those” Gabe smiled softly and got Lily out of his hood. “But this is a lavender albino ball python” He grinned. “So it is a ball python” He smirked as he helped her back into her tank. 

“She’s feisty” Lucien shrugged, walking from the room. “I can show you other snakes too” Lucien lead the way down the hall. 

“We have piranhas too, but we don’t handle those” Gabe laughed.

Sam snorted, tilting his head as he followed them. “How many pets do you have? Does Cas take care of them when you’re gone?”

“Charlie most of the time” Gabe shrugged and walked into the room, immediately heading for the white-lipped python, twice the size of Lily. “Here, this is Irene” He smiled and offered him to Sam. “He won’t bite- promise” He frowned a little.

Sam smiled a little and hesitantly held out his hands. “I trust you.”

Gabe smiled a little wider and helped the snake up onto Sam’s shoulders, positioning Sam’s arms around. “He’s adventurous so try not to drop him” Gabe teased as he stepped closer to rub Irene’s head. “He’s really friendly. Kids love him”

“I’ll try to be careful,” Sam assured him, smiling as he slowly adjusted his arms around the snake.

Gabe smiled widely as he noticed the snake wiping his lips into a smile. “He likes you” Gabe noted. “He’s smiling at you

Sam snorted, still trying to stay still. “Wonder if he’ll try and eat me.”

“No, he knows better” Gabe insisted with a smile. “The most he’ll do is lick you. He doesn’t really bite unless he’s provoked or he’s eating. He has bad aim” Gabe nodded softly. “Is he due for a feeding soon?” Gabe asked. 

“Actually yeah. Cas kept me up to date on the feeding charts” Lucien smiled. “Wanna get the frozen mice?”

“Do you think he should do a rat this time?” Gabe asked instead. 

“Uh.. maybe, I am usually giving him two mice now” Lucien nodded softly. “I’ll go get the rat” Lucien mumbled and left the room.

“Do you wanna feed him?” Gabe smiled widely.

“Uh.. I don’t really know how to feed snakes,” Sam responded, biting his lip before smiling. “Maybe some other time?”

“We have long prongs for that” Gabe smiled widely. “But it’s okay, I’ll feed him if you’re scared” He smirked.

"I'm not scared, I'm inexperienced," Sam snorted, shaking his head. "I want to watch first."

“It’s not that hard” He laughed and watched as Lucien brought in a dead rat. He shrugged and grabbed the long pair of tongs to hover it around in his cage. Irene shriveled up a little as he flattened himself, watching the rat with a glare. “Come on bud” Gabe mumbled, waving it around. “There we go!” Gabe grinned and watched the python strike, wrapping securely around the rat, shaking it before slowly letting go and closing the tank. “Maybe next week” Gabe smiled at Sam.

"Maybe," Sam shrugged, smiling back at him. "The biggest pet I ever had was a golden retriever.. or, kind of a pet anyway. Only had him a couple weeks."

“We don’t really care for dogs here” Gabe snorted and shrugged. “Besides, I’m more of a snake or cat person” He beamed. “Probably because they’re sassy creatures and hiss at things, kind of like me” He grinned.

Sam laughed. "Oh come on, dogs are great too," he insisted.

“They are! They are, they’re just not.. the same as snakes” He mumbled softly.

“Fair,” Sam shrugged, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. “Michael disagrees,” he joked with a smile.

“Michael can kiss my snakes” Lucien muttered, leaning the hook on the wall. 

Gabe smiled and took Sam’s hand off his shoulder to hold it tightly. “I think he’d rather not” He mumbled and walked for the door, taking Sam with him. “So what do you wanna do now?” Gabe grinned, leading him into his room. “You could play some of my video games if you want” He offered.

“Sure,” Sam snorted. “What do you have? I don’t play much so.. you’ll probably have to become a teacher for a bit.”

“Skyrim is fairly easy, It teaches you as you go. I wouldn’t recommend any alien games and stuff because they’re harder to do but I also have some.. Spyro game- I never really played past the first level though” He laughed.

Sam smiled as they entered his room, tilting his head. “Skyrim then, maybe? I think a friend of mine plays that, she likes to ramble about it to Dean and me.”

“Perfect” He grinned and sat, crouched in front of a bean bag to set up the game, making a new profile. He smiled and dragged Sam over to sit in the beanbag, forcing the controller into his hands. “Don’t die” He grinned and walked to the side of his room to look through bookshelves.

“Um-“ Sam started, staring at the screen in confusion before hesitantly moving and clicking random buttons on the remote. “Alright.”

Gabe laughed and watched him. “Use the analog stick to look around. You kind of just have to sit and wait out the NPC’s speeches” He grinned, coming back with a book. He moved Sam’s arms apart before sitting directly in his lap, opening his book like it was nothing.

Sam softly cleared his throat, pausing again before messing with the controller again to wander around his environment.

“Sam you’re running from the dragon not-“ Gabe sighed as Sam was burned to death and shook his head “When Dean said his brother was bad at video games I didn’t think he was this bad” Gabe teased Sam, leaning back into Sam’s chest.

“Psh, leave me be, I’m learning,” Sam laughed, nudging him a little before going back to playing.

“Okay-“ Gabe mumbled and looked back down at his book to continue reading.

Sam sighed a little, still staring at the screen before leaning forward to rest his chin on Gabe’s shoulder.

Gabe smirked a little as he leaned over to rest his head against Sam’s. He continued to read, flipping pages every few seconds as if something intense was happening.

Sam glanced over at him, then paused his game. “What book is that?”

“Sh” Gabe whispered, raising a finger to Sam’s lips, letting his hand slowly glide down to turn the page again. “It’s a book about ugly people who turn sixteen, get a surgery to be put into a pretty place. They’re all mind washed though and it’s just a life of being happy and not working and partying but there was a cure Tally was supposed to get but there was two half’s and two pills so her boyfriend took the bad one and I think he’s about to die” He frowned.

Sam grimaced tilting his head more to see. “Really?” He hummed. “Can I borrow it after you’re done?”

“Yeah there’s like three or four books in the series” Gabe nodded and glanced to his side to smile at Sam.

Sam hummed again to himself, then nodded. “I’ll get them back to you as soon as I’m done, promise,” he snorted, then went back to the game.

“Cool,” Gabe whispered and dropped his smile as he continued reading.

Sam continued playing for a while longer, then started mumbling a random tune to himself, still focused on the screen.

Gabe had stopped reading as his head bobbed back and forth for a few minutes until he went still. He let his head fall back to rest, almost immediately falling asleep to let the book fall down his legs and onto the floor.

Sam jumped a little, pausing the game again to move the book so Gabe didn't lose his place, then going back to playing as he slept.


	6. Chapter 6

Gabe shifted awake near two in the morning, reaching up to rub his eyes vigorously. He looked up to find Sam still playing and looked up to see Sam staring at the screen. “Are you still playing?” He whispered softly.

"Hm?" Sam mumbled, blinking quickly as he paused the game. "Oh, hey. Yeah, I kinda.. lost track of time."

Gabe rubbed his eyes and yawned again, snuggling in further into Sam’s chest before standing up to drag a blanket and pillow to Sam. He dropped the pillow on Sam’s lap and laid down to pull the blankets up around himself. “Just sleep eventually” Gabe mumbled, snuggling his face into the pillow.

Sam smiled a little, starting up the game again. "Maybe. I'm not that-" a yawn cut off his words. ".. Tired." He sighed. "I'll sleep later."

“Hey, if you get tired.. you need to lay with me. I mean it” Gabe whispered, hands tangling in the blanket.

"Mm.. I'll sleep later," Sam repeated, blinking a couple more times as he stared at the screen. "You're tired though, you can sleep if you want."

“I was planning on it” Gabe smirked softly before growing quiet. His breathing steadied, almost immediately falling back asleep.

Sam smiled a little down at him, then returned his attention to the screen, squinting at it as he tried to stay awake.

“What are you doing?” Lucien whispered, suddenly beside him, glaring.

Sam tensed up, pausing the game again as his head snapped towards him. "Oh- uh, just.. playing a game. Why?"

Lucien blinked slowly and pointed to his brother without even looking at him. “Don’t play stupid with me. I’m telling you right now that if you break his heart like Kali, I’ll break more than your heart” He muttered. “Don’t hurt my fucking brother. Got it?”

"I-" Sam started, leaning away with a confused and anxious look. "I don't want to hurt him. Why would I want to do that?"

“That’s exactly what Kali said” Lucien whispered with a frown. “Look. I know you’re probably a good guy but just don’t hurt him. I’m trying to be nice, but trust me. I will ruin your fucking life if you hurt my baby brother”

Sam winced a little, looking down at Gabe with a sigh. "If I can help it, it'll never happen."

Lucien scoffed and shifted to stand up. “You say that now” He muttered and glanced away to walk out the door.

Sam grumbled and sighed, pressing his lips together as he switched off the TV and set his controller aside, then leaned back a little against the bean bag chair to stare at the ceiling fan.

Gabe didn’t appreciate the relocation very much, causing the blankets to fall from his face. He immediately took ahold of Sam’s shirt to tug up and over his head with a fussy whine. Sam made a soft noise in surprise, looking down at him with a confused expression. Gabe yawned against Sam’s stomach before trailing up further until he was securely under Sam’s shirt. Sam stayed frozen, continuing to stare down at him for a few seconds before grabbing another pillow from Gabe's bed and adjusting it so that he could lay back without disturbing him much.

Lucien came back into their room in the morning to find Gabe inside Sam’s shirt. He gave them an awkward look before leaving to the kitchen to find Michael. “Have you seen how Gabe and Sam are sleeping?” Lucien asked softly.

Michael looked up at him as he sipped his coffee. "No? Should I have?" he asked.

“He’s laying with Sam like he does with us” Lucien mumbled and glanced at the stairs. “He’s laying under Sam’s shirt.. It’s actually quite a sight” He laughed with a small frown.

Michael snorted. “Probably easier for him to do, with Sam’s height. Is there a problem?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lucien hummed and glared at the stairs before looking at Michael. “I don’t think it’s a good idea” He whispered. “I love Gabe, but he can be the stupidest person of all time when he’s making decisions..”

Michael frowned and sighed, setting his mug on the counter. "I know what you mean, but you know Gabe.. he's not easy to convince out of things," he pointed out. "Not to call Sam a bad kid, I'm sure he means well."

“You said the same thing about Kali,” Lucien said flatly.

Michael opened his mouth to respond, then growled and let out a huff. “I’m serious. Plus, we’ve got Dean and Cas to vouch for him, don’t we?”

“Sure, but siblings can hate each other. Think of you and me” He said bluntly and frowned at Michael, leaning over on the counter more. “I don’t care how good of a kid he is. If he fucks with anyone I care about, his life will be a living hell”

Michael grunted, picking up his mug again. "And I never said I'd stop you. I just think you're being too quick to judge. If you're so worried about it, why don't you ask people who know him?"

Lucien made a face and glanced away before nodding. “I will” He mumbled, taking out his phone to call Cas.

Michael sighed, rolling his eyes as he wandered into the living room.

Cas picked up after a few rings, voice groggy from sleep. "H- ell..o?" he mumbled slowly, then tried again. "Hello?"

“Cassie. It’s Lu.. Is Dean there with you?” He got right to it, leaving no time for Cas to even process the question.

".. Yeah?" Cas responded after a moment, then yawned as he tried to wake up more. "Why?"

“Just give him the phone” Lucien mumbled with a frown. 

“Who’re you talking to this early?” Dean complained from where he was buried in the blankets, glaring at Cas.

"Lucien," Cas said to Dean, voice fainter as he held the phone away from his face for a moment. "He wants to talk to you."

Dean sighed and carefully took the phone to mumble. “Calling at eight in the morning better be important or else I’m gonna kick your ass”

“Please,” Lucien laughed. “I wanna know about Sam..” He frowned. 

“..What about him?” Dean frowned and sat up more to bring his eyebrows closer together. 

“I think he’s going out with Gabe. And I want to know if he’s ever..” Lucien paused and glanced down. “Is he going to hurt my brother?”

Dean’s eyes widened as he glanced at Cas. “No. He’s never hurt anybody in his relationships.. He’s always been the one who got dumped. Or.. more or less, left” Dean mumbled. 

“Left?”

“..A few girls past away in accidents when Sam was with them. One in a fire, another got painfully sick and one was in a random shoot up..” Dean whispered. “Sam doesn’t really date anymore. I’m surprised he’s seeing anyone anymore”

“..I am too” Lucien whispered softly and stared at the back of Michael’s head. “I’m sorry I brought that up” He whispered. 

“It’s alright I guess.. You’re just looking out for your brother and want what’s best for him” Dean smiled. 

“Yeah.. thanks Dean” He mumbled. 

“No problem”

Lucien frowned and hung up, walking over to stand behind Michael. “..Jesus” He whispered.

Michael gave him a look, face softening a little. "What? What happened?" he asked, placing his mug on the coffee table and turning more to face him.

“I.. alright I judged Sam.. a little too much” He admitted before sighing. “He’s had a rough dating life. I know why he says he doesn’t want to hurt Gabe” He sighed and climbed over the couch to scratch his head. “Apparently, three of the people he’s dated died while in the relationship”

Michael grimaced, hands fidgeting on his lap. "Ah.. I feel like we shouldn't bring that up to him," he noted, shaking his head softly.

"Bring what up to who?" Balthazar's voice came from the hallway as he stumbled tiredly to the kitchen.

“Butt out!” Lucien snapped and looked back to Michael. “I won’t, I’m just debating on telling Gabriel” He whispered softer. 

“Tell me what?” Gabe asked, dragging himself into the kitchen to look at Lucien and Michael. His eyes widened when they shared a look and frowned. “..What?” He frowned too.

"Um.. it's really not our story to tell," Michael said slowly, looking pointedly at Lucien, then turning back to Gabe. "Where's Sam?"

Gabe frowned and glared at them. “Sleeping. Now tell me. I know it’s obviously something you can tell me” Gabe muttered. 

“Gabe..” Lucien started and stood up, to hold his shoulders. “Listen, sometimes, we can’t tell you things about other people because-“

“Bull shit!” Gabe snapped, glancing down. “..I’m sorry” He mumbled, face softening. “I just don’t like to be treated like I’m five”

“I know” Lucien smiled. “But it’s not something we should tell you. They’ll tell you when and if they decide”

“Sam?” Gabe asked with wide eyes. 

“..Yes, but..” Lucien sighed. “Just forget this conversation” Lucien mumbled, stroking a hand through Gabe’s curls. 

Gabe smiled a little and nodded. “I guess” He rolled his eyes with a laugh.

Michael let out a relieved sigh, picking his mug up again to continue drinking his coffee. "Thank you."

"Michael, stop drinking all of the coffee!" Balthazar yelled from the kitchen.

"Get up earlier and maybe there'd be some left!"

Gabe gasped and glared at Michael. “Good thing I drink tea” He smirked, taking his box of tea out of the cabinet before grinning. “Pancakes this morning?” He asked his brothers before getting the frying pan out.

"Hell yeah," Balthazar grinned, sitting on top of the table. "Blueberry, thanks, you're the best."

Gabe laughed and smiled at him before getting blueberries from the fridge. “Alright, everyone gets blueberries then” Gabe smiled, adding water to his mix. True to his word, he made four plates and left them on the counter before bringing out their wooden tray. 

“What’re you doing?” Lucien asked, mouth already full of food. 

“Taking Sam something to eat” Gabe smiled, pouting a cup of coffee to sit on the tray. “Figured it’d be nice” He shrugged, carefully picking it up before walking off. 

“Lead it to Gabe to be the wife” Lucien whispered. 

As soon as Gabe reached the top of the stairs he went to his room, sitting the tray on his desk before crouching next to Sam, gently poking his face.

Sam gasped a little as he startled awake, sitting up and staring at Gabe with wide eyes before relaxing. "Morning," he laughed tiredly, reaching up to rub his eyes as he sat up. "What time is it?"

Gabe frowned and stared at Sam blankly before sitting back a few inches. “About nine..” He mumbled softly, glancing away. “Were you having some nightmare or something..?” He asked.

"No- no, I'm fine," Sam laughed dryly, shaking his head. "You just scared me. Do I smell pancakes?"

Gabe bit the inside of his cheek, still in denial before smiling a little. “Yeah” He mumbled and stood up to walk to his desk, taking the tray to carefully set in Sam’s lap. “Figured you like blueberry pancakes.. Normally everyone does” He smiled widely.

"I do," Sam agreed, smiling up at him. "Thank you. You didn't have to bring them all the way up here."

“Nah, I didn’t want you to get ridiculed by my brothers” He mumbled as he laid down and frowned. “Besides, I made pancakes for all of you” He shrugged.

"Well yeah, but you could've just gotten my ass up," Sam insisted, taking a bite and glancing over at him. "What's up?"

“..I don’t know” He admitted, thinking back to what Lucien said. “Just thinkin about shit my brothers say to me” He shrugged from the carpet, huffing through his nose a little.

Sam tilted his head, eating a little more before returning his attention to him. "Should I ask?"

Gabe laughed a little. “Nah, I was told not to” He mumbled before staring at the stars on his ceiling.

"Alright, I won't pry," Sam shrugged, going back to eating. "These are good though."

“Thanks” Gabe mumbled and rubbed his eyes before raising his feet into the air to stare at them. “..I don’t think I should’ve slept on top of you” He grumbled. “My neck hurts”

Sam grimaced a little and looked over. "I wouldn't doubt it, you were in kind of an awkward position. Do you need anything?"

“A nice sleep for once would be nice. The tour bus sucked” He laughed. “Every night since then I’ve been interrupted or up until two drinking wine and talking shit about reality TV with Lucien.. Don’t tell Michael I drink, I have two years left” He whispered. 

“Dude, shut up” Lucien whispered from the hall, gesturing to Michael behind him.

"Shut up about what?" Michael asked, squinting at Lucien.

Sam snorted, waving his hand as he continued eating. "My lips are sealed," he assured him in a soft tone.

Gabe pursed his lips together and smiled. Lucien fixed him with a look. “You wanna continue- you better not” Lucien whispered at him. 

Gabe laughed and nodded. “Fine!” He grinned.

Michael glanced between them and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, anyway, how's it going up here?"

Sam shrugged, gesturing to his plate. "Pretty good I think."

“My legs are going numb” Gabe mumbled before letting them fall to the floor. “I’m really bored now and someone won’t let me play music” He glared at Michael and Lucien in the doorway.

"It's early, some of us don't wake up immediately," Michael scoffed, waving him off.

Gabe stuck his tongue out before sitting up with a sigh. “What do you do when you’re not on tour?” Gabe frowned. 

“Skateboard downtown” Lucien smiled. 

“I’d love to!” Gabe grinned. 

“Let’s go” Lucien shrugged with a wide smile.

Sam snorted, finishing his pancakes and standing up. "You can skateboard?" he asked Gabe.

“Hell yeah,” Gabe mumbled and stood up to take a longboard off the wall. “I like to walk on them though” He mumbled as he set it down on his bed and went to his closet. “Can you?” Gabe asked, poking his head out.

"Eh, a little, not anything fancy," Sam shrugged. "I kinda just.. roll and try not to lose my balance."

Gabe snorted and turned on his closet light. 

“You’re gonna look like a fool” Lucien mumbled and went to his room to change. 

Gabe quickly came back out in black ripped skinny jeans and more than likely Lucifer’s shirt, grinning at Sam. “I’m ready to make my knees bleed” He snorted.

"Ah- maybe not that," Sam laughed nervously, gesturing to the door and Lucien. "Let's go then. Just let me take my plate to the sink first."

“Here I’ll get it” Gabe smiled and picked up the tray. “Close the door and get changed into your clean clothes and we’ll meet you in the living room” He smiled and left, heading for the stairs.

"Will do," Sam nodded, closing the door as they went downstairs.

“Hey, Gabe-“ Lucien mumbled as he followed him downstairs. 

“Yeah?” Gabe asked, setting the tray on the counter to wash off the dishes. 

“So you and Sam..” He mumbled softly. 

“..Yeah” Gabe mumbled shyly. “It’s new. Trust me- We kind of .. told each other just yesterday” He smiled softly.

“I know it’s just you didn’t.. do anything last night, rig-“

“No!” Gabe blushed and looked away. “No..” He mumbled again and frowned. “I’m not even ready to make it official- I.. haven’t even kissed him”

“I’m sorry” Lucien laughed softly. “For prying, that is. But I’m glad you’re making smart decisions” He mumbled softly and smiled. “It’s unlike you” He squinted. 

“I.. just like him” He shrugged.

"I've noticed," Michael nodded, glancing back at the two of them. "You were really happy yesterday, before you two went to eat."

Gabe smiled wider, shuffling his socks around the kitchen floor before heading to the front door to get his shoes on. “I think it might work” He mumbled, sitting down to tie his shoes before sprinting up. “I’m excited for the future” He laughed childishly.

Michael smiled a little, looking from Gabe to Lucien and back to Gabe. "Well, we're here to support you, both of you. Right Lu?"

“Don’t call me Lu” Lucien made a face and sighed. “But yes..”

“Aw, thanks Lu” Gabe smiled widely and came up to hug him.

“Don’t..” Lucien sighed and hugged him “Sure thing” He whispered.

Michael snorted, patting both of their shoulders before moving to stand closer to Lucien. "Oh yeah, and you should probably apologize to Cas for waking him up so early, Lu," he mumbled quietly. "He's probably going to be a grouch today."

“Call me Lu one more fucking time” Lucien muttered and let go of Gabe. “I’ll call him later tonight” He mumbled. “God- Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend. I didn’t say yes, and for now we’re just seeing each other and going on dates” Gabe grinned. 

“Uh-huh.. Where’s your boy toy?”

Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh.

Michael laughed and glanced at the stairs, spotting Sam as he started coming down. "Found him."

"Huh?" Sam looked at them in confusion. "Did I go missing?" he laughed.

“Yes,” Gabe mumbled and instantly took Sam’s bag from him to take the flannel he was wearing yesterday, tying it around his waist. “You might get this back never” He joked and walked to the door. “Come on, Lu has an extra board” He grinned, holding his up with a design on the bottom.

Sam snorted and nodded in acknowledgment. "Cool, I promise not to break it."

"Well, you all have fun with that," Michael grunted, falling into the couch. "I'm gonna be here until like.. noon."

“What are you doing at noon?” Gabe asked curiously, bending over the back of the couch to smile at Michael. 

Lucien sighed and took all three skateboards to the hallway, waiting for Gabe.

"Groceries," Michael shrugged. "We're low on food, Cas doesn't stay here much anymore except to feed your reptiles."

“True..” He mumbled. “Hold off on shopping until I get back, I wanna go with you” He smiled softly and walked to the door next. “Later Mikey!” He called out before walking out to stand in the elevator with his brother and Sam.

“Got your knees pads?” Lucien asked. 

“Nah, I don’t need em” Gabe mumbled.

"You don't wear knee pads?" Sam asked, squinting in concern at him. "You're gonna need protection, you know, or I'll just worry over you the whole time."

Gabe half snorted before looking up at Sam. “I didn’t know we were getting to sex already. We haven’t had our second date” Gabe smiled widely. 

“Get- get in the fucking corner” Lucien frowned and nudge him with the board. “Stay there and think about your sins”

“Absolutely!” Gabe laughed.

Sam attempted a glare, then simply laughed and shook his head. "Ah, I walked into that one didn't I?" he sighed, using both hands to rub his face.

“Or can in..” Gabe chuckled. 

“Sinner!” Lucien yelled. 

“You’re named after the devil!” Gabe snapped. 

“You mean an angel!” Lucien laughed.

Sam snorted and raised an eyebrow. "You guys are ridiculous," he joked, smiling at the two of them.

“I hate him” Gabe mumbled and hugged his brother. “But he’s my favorite brother, but don’t tell Mikey” He chuckled. 

“Don’t touch me” Lucien whispered and shook his head when Gabe didn’t let go.

Sam snorted and shrugged. "I think Michael is more the parent of all of you guys, personality-wise."

“Well he is the second oldest” Lucien mumbled before pushing Gabe off of him. 

“By seven minutes!” Gabe laughed.

Sam laughed along with him. “And yet, he’s still the parent sibling.”

“I’m older!” Lucien pouted deeply. 

“By seven minutes” Gabe mumbled again

Sam shrugged and glanced at him. “I mean, you parent your snakes, I’d say that kinda counts, yeah?”

“Yeah-“ Lucien started. 

“Humans are harder than snakes” Gabe instantly pointed out, smirking a little. “He’s like a dad” He chuckled. 

“Not like our real dad was really a dad” Lucien muttered. 

“Or any of our moms..” Gabe blinked and walked through the open elevator doors, throwing down his board to ride through the halls. 

“Mr. Novak, how many times do I have to tell you?!” A red-headed secretary laughed at him.

Sam held back a laugh of his own, smiling sheepishly as he and Lucien followed quickly after Gabe. “Sorry, ma’am.”

“Bye Charlie” Gabe turned to wave before slamming into the glass doors, falling back to stare at the ceiling. 

Lucien laughed before going over to help him up. “I thought I taught you to ride better” Lucien teased.

Sam winced and hurried over to them. “Are you alright? I told you, protection.”

“But I can't get pregnant” Gabe mumbled in a confused daze before Lucien pulled him to his feet.

Sam sighed, shaking his head before taking hold of his shoulder and looking him over. “Seriously, are you okay?”

“Okay as I’ll ever be” Gabe joked, rubbing his red chin. “Usually I’m banging up my knees and hands” He laughed. 

“He’ll be alright” Lucien smiled and rubbed his head. “Come on, let’s not run into more walls” He teased.

“Please,” Sam agreed with a nervous laugh, reaching to pick up his board before it could roll away.

“Will try” Gabe laughed a little as he pushed open the door. “Maybe we should I eat in knee pads” He mumbled. 

“Nah, you’ll be fine” Lucien mumbled. 

“I meant for Sam” Gabe joked, glancing at Sam with a soft smile.

Sam snorted. “For you. Get them for you,” he reiterated.

Gabe stuck his tongue out and smirked a little. “Maybe” He mumbled.

Sam grunted and sighed. “Alright, alright, are we heading out finally?” he asked.

“Yeah, hopefully not into walls” Lucien frowned and followed Gabe outside. 

“Probably” Gabe laughed and took his board to throw on the ground, instantly riding again. 

“Gabe-“ Lucien sighed and shook his head. “..Dumbass” He mumbled, handing Sam the extra.

Sam smiled a little, taking the board from him and holding it under his arm. “He’s gonna get himself hurt.. more,” he sighed with a slight shake of his head.

“Probably” Lucien whispered before smiling at Sam “Think you can keep up?” Lucien smiled softly.

“Not in the slightest,” Sam laughed. “Let’s do it.”

“You sure?” Lucien smiled as he set his board down to put his foot on it. “..We’ll go easy on you for the most part” Lucien decided and began going a lot slower than Gabe.

“I’ll do my best,” Sam snorted, shrugging as he set his own board down.

“Just try not to get hit by a car” He laughed, glancing back at Sam as they went down the sidewalk, catching up to Gabe who was taking a picture with a fan. “Did we get caught?” Lucien smiled, picking up his board. 

“Maybe” Gabe laughed and took another picture before stepping back to raise his board. “Maybe this time we won’t be interrupted” He smiled.

“Maybe,” Sam smiled softly, standing back a little until they’d finished the pictures. “I’ll try not to crash and burn.”

“Please don’t, I worry too much” Gabe winked before tossing his board down to swerve around on the sidewalk. 

“He’s gonna trip” Lucien declared, watching as Gabe almost instantly turned and began dragging his knees, quickly flipping over to his side. 

Gabe sighed and sat up on his legs, hands in the air. “That was awesome!” He yelled across the empty sidewalk. 

“..Idiot” Lucien sighed.

Sam winced a little, raising an eyebrow. "Is- are you okay?" he laughed, holding his board against his side again. "I feel like it's not me we should worry about."

“Yeah” Gabe laughed and stood up quickly, peeling his blood-covered knees off the spot on the sidewalk. “I usually shrug off pain like it’s nothing. I’m used to it and hey, it shouldn’t hold someone down because it’s natural” Gabe shrugged. 

“Gabe you’re bleeding” Lucien frowned. 

“Barely hurts” He laughed. 

Lucien stared blankly before tapping it with his knee, listening to Gabe squeal a little in pain. “Thought so” He sighed. “Come on, I’ve got bandages”

Sam glanced over at him. “Are we heading back upstairs then? I don’t remember seeing you bring anything down with us.”

“I always bring shit for Gabe” Lucien mumbled and sat Gabe back down on the skateboard before wiping the blood away with his sleeve. He reached in his pocket for the large bandage, unwrapping it then covering his whole knee. “Be more careful this time” Lucien frowned at him. 

Gabe frowned but stood up anyway, shuffling around to flex his knee. “Alright,” He yawned.

"Seriously," Sam sighed, smiling as he gently nudged his arm. "Don't like.. break anything. Please."

“I won’t” Gabe laughed and put his foot on the board. “Please, have some faith in me” He teased. 

“With you like that, I’ve got none” Lucien grumbled.

Sam snorted, then sighed again. "I'm just saying, I've been around enough broken bones. Dean and I weren't the most careful, I'd rather stay out of hospitals for as long as I possibly can."

“Never broke a bone, but I’ve split my lip so bad it was basically in two pieces and had stitches in the bottom one. Then again it was all over the news and shit.. What people didn’t know what that I couldn’t talk, couldn’t sing, or even laugh or smile” Gabe pouted. “Rough time..”

“Still gonna fucking kill that dick..” Lucien glared at the ground. 

“Let it go” Gabe laughed. “He’s gone now”

"Wait- who?" Sam asked, looking between the two of them. "Did someone do that to you?"

Gabe blinked and smiled a little before tilting his head. “Well, kind of. When Kali and I were going off and on for months at a time I was seeing this guy. He was nice for the most part but he had a lot of mental crap and anger issues. I tried calming him down one time and he pushed my face into our glass table” He shrugged. “I'm sure he didn’t mean to have it end that bad, but I’m fine now so there’s no real point to holding a grudge..” He mumbled with a shy smile. 

“Yes, there is” Lucien muttered.

Sam’s eyes widened as he continued to glance between them. “Shit- uh.. I didn’t drag anything up again did I?”

“No, I told you, there’s no point in staying angry” Gabe smiled. 

“The man would emotionally abuse you” Lucien snapped. 

“He was just insecure” Gabe laughed it off. 

“He physically abused you”

“Only once” 

“He also-“

“It doesn’t matter!” Gabe snapped before sighing. “We both had issues and it didn’t work out” He shrugged. “I’m over it”

“Well I’m not”

Gabe sighed and glanced at Sam with a soft smile. “Sorry, we don’t usually bring it up” He shrugged. “But it’s not your fault. You didn’t know” He reassured, putting a hand on Sam’s bicep. “He’ll get over it”

Sam frowned and bit his lip. “Are you sure? I mean, I know what it’s like to go through stuff in relationships. Not exactly like that, I just- sorry. Do you wanna drop it?”

Gabe laughed a little and took ahold of Sam’s hand. “You’re too nervous all the time” He teased, rubbing his hand with his thumb. “We can do what you wanna do”

Sam let out a smile, sighing softly through his nose. “I don’t know, but.. I’ve barely heard of the guy and I’ve already got a pretty strong opinion of him.”

Gabe laughed a little and shrugged. “We don’t talk anymore” He smiled. “I don’t know where he is now, but I honestly don’t care”

Sam laughed quietly. “Well, whoever he is, he didn’t deserve you.”

Gabe laughed a little. “Alright, calm down with your defensive ass” He joked, squeezing Sam’s hand.

“Psh, never,” Sam joked, squeezing gently back.

“Well, you’re gonna need to” Gabe smiled softly, elbowing him a little.

“Hm.. Nah,” Sam snorted, shaking his head.

“You’re cute” Gabe smiled up at Sam. “Weird, but cute”

“Um- thanks,” he laughed awkwardly. “I mean, so are you though.”

“Cliche” Gabe smirked, letting go of his hand to walk ahead of him, immediately dropping his board to start riding again. 

“Oh, he’s leaving you” Lucien joked.

“Ouch,” Sam laughed, shoulders drooping a bit. “I’ve been abandoned. Guess I’ll have to hang with you.”

“Hm..” Lucien frowned and immediately put his board down to ride away with Gabe.

“Wow, rude,” Sam scoffed, setting his board down and attempting to follow after them.

“Don’t fall!” Lucien laughed softly.

“No promises,” Sam laughed, arms out slightly as he kept his balance.

“Try not to!” Gabe yelled and waved back to him with a grin.

Sam grinned and continued after them, eventually getting up enough speed to catch up to them.

Gabe glanced to his side and smiled widely. “Hey” He mumbled, waving a little to him.

“Hi,” Sam smiled, arms still slightly out to the side.

Gabe smiled widely, reaching up to take Sam’s hand, easily keeping the both of them steady. “Having fun?” Gabe asked, almost anxiously.

Sam grinned at him and nodded. “‘Course I am.”

Sam grinned at him and nodded. “‘Course I am.”

Sam stumbled off of his board as he tried to catch him, grunting as he caught himself before he completely hit the ground. "Gabe??"

Gabe winched and let out a sigh as he sat up, gently touching his nose and face. “I’m good” He frowned, rubbing his forward. 

“What happened?” Lucien frowned himself as he ran back to Gabe’s side. 

“I think there’s something wrong with the wheels” Gabe mumbled. 

Lucien hummed as he picked up Gabe’s board that had flipped on its side to test the wheels. “Yeah, this one doesn’t wanna spin as well” He frowned, messing with it before he got a small rock to fall out of its side. “Problem fixed” He smiled.

Sam frowned, wincing as he brushed his hands off and stood up. "Maybe uh- maybe we take a break? You hit the ground pretty hard, are you sure you're okay?"

“I’ll be alright. I think I’ve had enough of skateboarding” He complained. “Wanna go back home and take a nap together?” Gabe asked. 

“It’s like eleven in the morning” Lucien whispered. 

“Don’t ruin my potential date nap” Gabe glared.

Sam's smile returned as he laughed, offering his hand to Gabe. "Sure, why not? We'll do that and maybe be up in time if you want to go with Michael to get food."

“Maybe” Gabe shrugged and took ahold of Sam’s hand. “Let’s just go home for now. That’s half the battle”


	7. Chapter 7

“Gabe!” Lucien called out before finding Gabe asleep in Sam’s lap. “Oh..” He mumbled and looked up at Sam. “Michael said he’s getting ready so Gabe needs to be getting up and ready” He smiled and shifted his gaze back down to Gabe. “Have fun though, he’s an angry morning person”

Sam blinked a couple of times and squinted. "It's.. it's a little past noon, though," he said, gesturing to the clock before sighing. "I'll keep it in mind, though."

“That is morning for Gabe” Lucien mumbled. “You should’ve seen how surprised Michael was to see him at eight willingly” He laughed.

"I'll bet," Sam laughed softly. "I'm surprised I wasn't.. 'course, I usually get to sleep sooner, uh, sometimes."

Lucien shrugged and smiled at his brother, still completely out of it, wrapped in a blanket. “..I wish he was still little” Lucien absentmindedly mumbled.

Sam glanced up at him. "Do you guys have pictures of him still? When he was younger?"

“Oh yeah” Lucien laughed and smiled. “We have a whole book. I think it’s in Michael’s room. Want to see Gabe as a toddler?”

"Yes," Sam nodded with a grin. "Wait- if I wake him up to go with Michael then he won't be as embarrassed.. ah, maybe."

Lucien shrugged. “We’ll wake him up after. He’s a heavy sleeper” Lucien reassured before climbing up the stairs. A few minutes past with Gabe silently breathing in Sam’s lap, easily keeping Sam warm.

Sam sat there waiting, gently playing with the ends of Gabe's hair, but not enough to wake him up.

“Found it” Lucien whispered and came down with a rather large book. He slowly sat next to Sam to not shake Gabe around and opened the book. “Here’s all of us when we were born, this one is Gabe” Lucien smiled, pointing to one of the only babies who was looking up at something with wide eyes. “We were all criers, but Gabe just laughed and laughed” Lucien shrugged.

Sam smiled warmly as he looked over the picture. "Sounds like Gabe," he noted with a quiet laugh. "He usually does laugh most things off."

“Fitting for him” He mumbled and flipped through the pages of him and Michael and Balthazar. “Here’s Gabes fourth birthday. He liked cake” He gestured to the picture of Gabe’s face completely covered in frosting.

Sam snorted and held a hand over his mouth. He sat silently in thought for a moment before shaking his head, a small smile still on his face. "We've got a couple of pictures of Dean like that. He's only one or two, though."

“We have a few like that” He mumbled and turned the page. “Here’s Gabe’s first day of school- and here’s his first day of senior year” He pointed, the first picture before a woman holding Gabe and the next being Gabe just a few years ago in what looked to be a struggling Michael’s arms. “Michael couldn’t quite hold him that long” He smiled.

Sam laughed. "No, probably not. I don't think he's one to put up with that." He gestured to the first picture. "Is she your mom?" he asked softly.

Lucien looked back and nodded. “Yeah” He mumbled and glanced away before turning the page quickly. “Here’s one of him riding on Michael’s shoulders when they were about.. nine? Gabe’s about six?” Lucien shrugged. “We’re older than Balthazar by two years and Gabe by three. And four by Cas and I wanna say five when Sam was still around” Lucien mumbled.

"Sam?" Sam repeated in confusion, tilting his head a bit before pausing. "I.. feel like I shouldn't bring this up."

Lucien looked at Gabe with a scared look before shaking his head. He glanced at Gabe before whispering. “It was just six months ago. We don’t like to tell people because they’d bring it up all the time, but he was our youngest brother. Samandriel. We used to call him Alfie but.. he died while driving and got into an accident. Gabe and Cas probably felt the closest to him so they didn’t take it well at all and we’re still not completely over it” He continued, glancing at Gabe to run a hand over his wavy hair.

Sam frowned, chewing his lip and fidgeting with his hands as he listened. "I'm.. so sorry. It's always horrible to lose someone, especially when they were close to you..."

Lucien frowned and looked at Sam with a frown. “..I’m sorry for your loss too” He whispered. “I was talking with Dean, trying to see what kind of guy you were before I found out you were really nice.. He told me about them, vaguely. Jess the most..” Lucien cleared his throat and put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. But it gets better” He promised.

Sam stared at him for a few seconds, swallowing thickly and nodding. "Yeah.. I don't know how much he told you, I uh- I don't like to talk about it much." He took in a breath, glancing at Gabe before looking back at Lucien. "I don't think I can talk about any of them yet. It's just been a little.. Much."

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up” He whispered, rubbing Sam’s arm before carefully pulling him into a hug. “I’m sorry, Sam”

Gabe whined a little in his spot, pushing his hand up to push Lucien away. He yawned and rolled over, tangling himself more in the blankets as he faced Sam’s stomach.

Sam looked down at him, a small smile reappearing on his face as he waited for him to settle down again. He then shook his head and faced Lucien again. "It's okay, really. I'm sorry for bringing up your family."

“Its cool.. pretend it never happened?” Lucien asked, sticking his hand out with a laugh.

"Deal," Sam accepted, reaching to shake his hand.

Gabe huffed in his sleep, almost sounding like a child before curling up further. Lucien laughed as he took his hand back to brush hair out of his face. “Gabe.. Come on, it’s time to get up” Lucien smiled at his sleeping figure while shaking him. He frowned, it obviously not working.

Sam raised an eyebrow and leaned down a little, nudging his shoulder. "Gabe. Michael's waiting for you."

Gabe took the shoulder as a sign of affection and leaned into it, head pressed firmly against Sam’s stomach as he continued to nap.

Sam let out a laugh and gently shook him. "Gabe."

Gabe whined and reached up to try and find Sam’s hand. “I wouldn’t let him do that if I were you” Lucien warned.

"Wait, what? Why?" Sam asked, holding his hands close to his chest as he looked at Lucien.

“He likes to take them up to his mouth and chew on them. He’s never hurt us, but it’s definitely gross when he starts teething them with his tongue” Lucien snorted.

"Ah, ew." Sam wrinkled his nose a little and brought his hands a little further away. "I think I'll pass on that," he laughed.

“Yeah, he’s pretty harmless and to be fair it’s cute.. if you’re watching” Lucien mumbled, lowering his hand to Gabe’s mouth, letting him take hold of his fingers to suck on one of his knuckles. Lucien shrugged and held his hand still. “We still don’t know why he does this because when we ask he’s genuinely confused and is persistent in claiming he doesn’t do it”

Sam snorted and shrugged. "Just a sleep thing I guess. Some people talk in their sleep."

"Gabe? Are you coming?" Michael called from the hallway, peering into the room. "Oh. Hey. I'm assuming we've been trying to get him up?"

“Trying” Lucien nodded and carefully took his hand away, having to watch his brother grimace and curl up more until he was almost completely in Sam’s lap. “I suggest dropping him” He joked.

"Uh, I don't think so," Sam scoffed, sighing a little. "How do you normally wake him up?"

Lucien shrugged and stared at Gabe. “We usually wait it out or carry him to the car and let him sleep there” Lucien smiled and moved to pick Gabe up, keeping the blanket wrapped around him as he grumbled and yawned. “Ready” He snorted.

"I guess?" Sam laughed with a shrug, standing with them. "I am planning on heading home today, though. Later, but still."

“No” Gabe frowned and sat up, pouting at Sam as he leaned away from Lucien. “..Please?” He pouted more. 

“Of course now you wake up” Lucien muttered, still holding him tightly.

Sam looked at him and smiled softly. "I gotta go home sometime Gabe. Don't you guys have to practice a little?"

Gabe huffed and pouted. “Not until Michael says. Because I guess I’m addicted to music” He rolled his eyes and glanced at Michael. “So not really” He glared.

Michael crossed his arms. "No, when we got back you decided to go straight back to work instead of relaxing. Therefore, I had to do something before you burnt yourself out."

Gabe groaned and flopped back down on Lucien’s arms, moving to curl back up. “I woke up to get love from Sam, not be bitched out,” He said bluntly, pressed against Lucien’s chest.

"I'm not, I'm-" Michael cut himself off and huffed, taking a step back.

Sam sighed and tilted his head to see Gabe better. "I could always come back over again sometime, but I do have work some days," he pointed out with a small smile. "That's why I need to go home tonight. But that's not until later so.. you're stuck with me for a few more hours."

Gabe pouted and moved to reach out to Sam, wrapping his arms around Sam’s neck while Lucien set him down. “Come on- Call off for a few days” He whined. “I’ll pay your rent” He promised. “I’ll get you anything you want..” He pouted, pulling away to look at Sam underneath the blanket.

Sam shook his head. "I'm not making you pay my rent," he said. "I can always come over after I get off. Or you can come to my place, if you want."

“I’ll come over” He mumbled. “Right now” He grinned, pulling the blanket off of him to throw on the couch. “I’ll still be there when you get off work” He pouted again.

Sam laughed and shrugged. "I mean, I guess? I'll have to leave my key with you, though. I kinda want to visit Dean again soon, it's been a while."

“That’s okay!” Gabe perked up a little. “I’ll be quiet and just sit and read” He begged a little.

"Psh, raid my kitchen if you want, I don't care," Sam snorted. "Might be late when I get home, though."

“I’ll crash on your couch” He shrugged and mess around with Sam’s hands a little. “So what’s the plan?” He grinned.

"Depends, are you going with Michael first? 'Cause I'll leave my apartment key with you if you are," Sam said, patting his pocket.

“Nope, sorry Mikey, but priorities first” Gabe grinned widely. 

“Just don’t get herpes” Lucien mumbled and walked past them. 

“I’ll try not to!” Gabe yelled back, waving to him.

Sam snorted and rubbed his face. "Alright, well, we'll see you guys sometime."

"Yeah, yeah, get out, I have to get food to feed these three," Michael scoffed, waving them off as he walked out of the room.

Gabe smiled and took ahold of both of Sam’s hands. “Ready?” He asked with wide eyes.

"Ready," Sam confirmed, squeezing his hands before nodding to the door. "Let's get going."

“I promise to not completely destroy your place” He smiled widely. “Only a little”

Sam laughed. “Please, it’s still the same mess from yesterday when you visited.”

“I like messy though” He mumbled, walking into the elevator to lean against a wall. “It shows personality” He shrugged.

Sam followed after him, pursing his lips and nodding. “I can see that. Good point. But still, I like to think I should keep my place at least a little cleaner.”

“I don’t” Gabe mumbled, taking Sam’s hands to play with. “Have you seen my room?” He laughed.

“I have,” Sam snorted.

“Yeah, that’s after Cas cleaned it” He mumbled.

“Fair, but you were busy,” Sam shrugged.

“I am also, a literal pig” He smiled as the doors opened, walked out with his fingers intertwined with Sam’s.

Sam slowly held his hand tighter as they left, taking his keys from his pocket and heading for his car. “I mean, pigs can be pretty clean.”

“Oh stop” He muttered, smiling back at him as they walked. “You’re too nice” He mumbled.

“I dunno, I have my moments,” Sam shrugged, unlocking the car and opening the door for him.

Gabe smiled and let go of his hands to climb inside, carefully buckling in. “As if. When?” He laughed.

Sam shrugged again, getting into the driver’s side before speaking again. “I can be bitchy. Just ask my brother.”

“I don’t think so” Gabe declared and smiled. “Name one time”

“Halloween. I hate Halloween,” Sam deadpanned. “And uh, pretty much any time I’m annoyed.”

“Why don’t you like Halloween?” Gabe complained. “It’s one of the best holidays” He smiled. “Free candy, Sam. Free candy”

“Yeah, I but I mean, I don’t eat a lot of candy anyway,” Sam shrugged. “Plus, just never had good memories.”

Gabe frowned and stared at him before leaning back in the car seat to drop his shoulders. “Okay..” He mumbled softly.

“There’s nothing wrong with liking it,” Sam insisted, glancing at him as he drove. “The memory of throwing up on someone isn’t one of my uh, greatest moments,” he finished with a snort.

Gabe laughed as he brightened up. “Oh- Sorry” He snorted. “I’m so sorry” He continued laughing, wiping his eyes as he cried. “Oh my god that’s horrible” He whispered, still smiling.

“It was, since she was kid-me’s crush,” Sam clarified, smiling a little as Gabe laughed.

Gabe pulled a face and pouted at Sam. “Is this some kind of payback for me talking about my ex?” He complained with a soft laugh. “Cuz I don’t like it”

“I wasn’t that old so, no, no payback,” Sam replied. “If you want to vent I don’t mind.”

“No, no” Gabe mumbled softly and shrugged with a smile. “It’s still touchy. I forgive him because it’s the right thing to do, not because I’m over it” He explained.

“Makes sense. I wouldn’t expect you to be,” Sam said. “Things take time to get over.”

Gabe shrugged and smiled at Sam, sitting down on the couch with a wide smirk. “But you’re helping with the process” He mumbled.

"I am?" Sam blinked and smiled. "Well.. I'm happy to help."

Gabe laughed and grinned, rubbing a finger over his chin that still had a scar. “It was a little traumatic” He shrugged.

Sam's smile faltered a little. "Do you.. want to talk about it, or.. should I leave it alone?"

“I’ve already talked about it” Gabe shrugged and tilted his head a little. “I mean, he wasn’t really supportive of my music and didn’t like my brothers” He shrugged with a small frown, shrinking in on himself.

Sam bit his lip and sunk down into the couch next to him. “He’s not worth your time, treating you like that.”

Gabe flashed a smile before continuing to stare at the ground. “I know..” He mumbled softly into his knees. “I’m sorry I’m gloomy and quiet now.. Sometimes I just need a few minutes”

Sam nodded in understanding. “It’s alright, I know what you mean.”

Gabe smiled again, letting himself lean over to rest against Sam’s shoulder, pressing his face into it. Sam leaned a little into him, sighing softly through his nose as he relaxed.

Gabe smiled and leaned up to put his chin on Sam’s shoulder, staring up at him. “I’m glad you caught that pick” He mumbled with a slight sideways grin.

Sam smiled, looking at him without moving his head. “I should’ve come backstage instead of freaking out.”

Gabe blushed a little, pressing his mouth against Sam’s shoulder before leaning in a little more. “I forgive you..” He smiled.

“I’m glad,” Sam laughed softly, turning his head more towards him.

“Me too..” Gabe blinked, shifting his legs, laying a hand on Sam’s while staring at him with wide eyes.

Sam stared back at him, biting his lip again and seeming to hesitate. “Are we.. are we making plans for tonight?”

Gabe flinched and leaned back, taking his hand with him. “Uh- no I.. thought you had to work” He mumbled a little, rubbing his elbow.

“N-no, tomorrow,” Sam told him, anxiously scratching his knee. “I had to be here tonight so I could get up early..”

“Oh!” He laughed a little and leaned further away. “I guess I didn’t understand that” He mumbled softly, tapping his mouth. “Well uh.. I don’t know. What do feel like doing?”

Sam opened his mouth, paused, closed it again, then opened it to speak. “You told me you wanted to go slow, I don’t- I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

Gabe flashed Sam a horrified expression, bringing his legs up to his chest as he backed up a little. “Uh.. no..” He whispered softly, scratching his knee anxiously. “No. I don’t think I’m ready after Kali..” He whispered again, looking away.

“No no, it’s alright!” Sam insisted. “I didn’t mean anything too forward, I’m not ready for anything huge yet either.”

Gabe smiled, hands resting on his knees as he leaned up slightly. “..Okay” He mumbled and stood up with a bright smile. “Let’s calm down. Relax a little and hang out. Wanna watch a movie?” He asked in a happier tone.

Sam thought about it for a moment, then nodded with a small smile. “I’d like that.”

Gabe smiled widely and went up to his TV, flipping it on as he changed the channel. “What movie?” He smiled widely, sitting on the floor to look through Sam’s DVDs.

Sam shrugged and leaned forward. “Doesn’t matter to me, choose whatever you want.”

Gabe quietly went through them, completely forgetting about the time before pulling out Gremlins. “What about this one?” He beamed.

“Go for it,” Sam snorted as he laid back. “Haven’t seen that one in a while, actually.”

“Cool,” Gabe smiled and put it in the player, standing back up when it started. He ran to Sam’s side, throwing him into Sam’s side to throw his legs over Sam’s lap as he settled in with a proud smile.

Sam grunted as Gabe landed on him, then snorted and settled himself.

Gabe grinned and buried his face into Sam’s chest, staring at the TV. He glanced back up at Sam before quickly looking away.

Sam looked down at him. “Whatcha thinkin' about?”

Gabe whined a little and stared back at the TV. “..Stuff” He whispered, leaning forward.

“Hm?” Sam hummed, tilting his head.

“Nothing” He mumbled, turning to look at Sam with a soft smile.

Sam’s eyes flitted over his face before he slowly nodded. “If you’re sure.”

Gabe smiled widely, watching Sam’s eyes before leaning up to carefully kiss him, closing his eyes quickly. Sam made a soft noise in surprise, closing his eyes too as he leaned over a bit to reach him.

Gabe smiled, carefully pulling away once Sam had started leaning forward. He smiled at him, leaning up to peck his lips again before turning back to the TV. Sam blinked quickly and smiled, leaning back into the couch with him to continue the movie. Gabe smiled softly, leaning against Sam’s shoulder as he watched the movie, hands fiddling in his lap.

Sam adjusted his arm so that it was around Gabe’s shoulders, eyes never leaving the screen. Gabe readjusted his feet so he could sit on them, glancing up to stare at Sam.

Sam glanced down at him and smiled a little. “Hi.”

Gabe blushed a bit and smiled, turning to stare at the TV. “..Hey” He chuckled softly, sinking back into Sam’s arms.

Sam kissed the top of his head, relaxing again and closing his eyes to listen to the movie instead. Gabe smiled childishly large and gently shifted to press a kiss to Sam’s cheek. He continued up until he was kissing his jawline, basically pouting on Sam’s bottom lips. Sam laughed softly, tilting his head down a little to kiss him quickly.

Gabe hummed with a light laugh as he continued to press kisses to Sam’s lips, eventually slowing down enough to somewhat make out with him. Sam wrapped both of his arms around him, smiling against his lips.

Gabe tensed underneath Sam, relaxing when he was able to reach up and play with Sam’s hair. He paused to take a breath, pressing his forehead to Sam’s. “..Well now I can at least say I’ve made out to the Gremlin movie”

Sam let out a laugh, opening his eyes to look at him. “Romantic, isn’t it?”

“I don’t mind it” Gabe smiled widely, pressing another soft kiss to Sam’s nose before pushing away from him to lean into his chest to calm down. “..It’s nice anyway” He whispered.

Sam nodded, shifting to lean back more. “It is,” he agreed. He went quiet for a moment as he thought. “Do you think I could come with you when your tour starts up again?”

Gabe blinked his eyes open a few times as he thought about it. “..I could see what we could do” He mumbled softly, fingers gripping Sam’s shirt tightly. “I really want you to go, but I’m not sure if I can convince my managers since you could be labeled as a distraction” He rambled.

“I wouldn’t be, if you were busy,” Sam assured him. “I’d just come to all of the shows on my own but I.. can’t really afford that.”

“I know” He mumbled and quieted down in Sam’s arms, letting himself begin to drift off again as he softly snorted.

Sam glanced down at him and smiled in amusement, staying quiet to let him sleep. Gabe mumbled something softer before laying his head down in Sam’s arms. He worked his way down until he was in Sam’s lap, curling up with a wide smile. Sam subconsciously moved his hand up to Gabe’s head and began running his fingers through his hair. Gabe slept perfectly up until he heard knocking on the door. He made a sound of acknowledgment before going back to sleep. Sam glanced up at the sound, then carefully moved to stand up without waking Gabe.

“Come on Sammy, don’t leave a guy standing in the hall” Dean laughed from behind the door before opening it himself. “Times up, get over it” He mumbled before spotting Gabe and going silent.

“Sh,” Sam hushed him, face going slightly red as he got stood up. “Go back out in the hall.” He gestured as he started walking out with him.

Dean opened his mouth and slowly closed it as he backed up and waited in the hall. “Dude you look like you just had sex” He deadpanned before raising an eyebrow. “..Am I interrupting something?” He joked.

“What? No!” Sam shook his head insistently as he shut the door. “I’m not.. nothing happened. We just watched a movie. What are you doing here?”

“I came by just to say hi.. why are you so nervous?” He asked, smirking at him.

“I’m not,” Sam grunted, avoiding eye contact and shifting his weight.

Dean smirked widely, patting his shoulder. “Sam. You can’t lie to me. I’m your brother” He smiled.

Sam wrinkled his nose and sighed. “I dunno. We’ve been hanging out a lot recently.”

“Alright, and?” Dean grinned. “Things going well?” He smiled widely as he took a step back. “Getting any action?” He teased.

“Not like you’re thinking,” Sam said monotonously. “But I think.. I think things are good so far. Or better than they’ve been for a while. Speaking of,” he continued, giving Dean a look. “You told Lucien?”

Dean frowned and sighed. “..Yeah. He wouldn’t drop the whole ‘Background check’ thing about Gabe and it was the only thing that came to mind to make him shut up” He mumbled. “I’m sorry. He called at like seven in the morning and I was not thinking.. I’m sorry”

Sam sighed and shook his head. “It’s.. it’s fine. I’m not upset, it just kind of scared me.”

“Sorry” Dean mumbled and chuckled a little. “I should’ve told you, but he wouldn’t stop bugging us” He mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it. Just maybe warn me next time?” Sam said, giving a half-smile. “I haven’t told Gabe yet, so..”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you just.. Lucien can keep his mouth shut. I know he can” Dean reassured.

“I know,” Sam nodded. “But uh, back to the point.. yeah, I think things are good. I hope things are good.”

“Are you afraid things aren’t good?” Dean asked with a small frown. “I think you’re doing fine, I mean- for the most part, you guys are getting along really well”

“I know, it’s been great so far,” Sam said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I kinda wanted to go with him when they start traveling again.”

“You wanna go on tour with them?” Dean asked with a confused expression. “Sammy, I love you but you’ve only known this kid for a month or two now, and you’re ready to just leave for a whole year with him?” He frowned completely now. “I’m not against what you want, considering it sounds like something I would do.. I’m just saying it’s not the best idea”

“I don’t know, but I don’t just want to lose him for a year,” Sam groaned, leaning back against the wall. “I was thinking I could see him after shows if anything. It’d be one of the only ways to spend time together.”

Dean thought about it and shrugged. “It’s mostly up to you and him along with his brothers” He mumbled. “If you’re both willing to try and do that, feel free but you can’t get upset if you two don’t work out and you’re forced to continue the tour with them” Dean frowned.

“I kinda figured I’d drive myself,” Sam shrugged. “Just in case. I know I haven’t dated for a while, but I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were” Dean quickly said and sighed softly. “I’m just saying.. if you still like each other after a year and have both waited then maybe it’s meant to be” He shrugged. “I’m just saying..” Dean mumbled.

Sam sighed and pulled his hands out of his pockets to cross his arms. “And you’re right, but still.”

Dean shrugged and watched Sam’s face. “I’m just saying, you don’t like swarms of people wanting your attention.. and that’s gonna happen” Dean shrugged and smacked his hands on his legs. “It’s not my relationship. I’m not gonna be the one to fuck it up” Dean shrugged again and turned down the hallway with a huff.

Sam sighed harshly through his nose, turning to walk back into his apartment.

Gabe looked up from where he was standing behind the couch. “Oh, I thought you went upstairs or- why do you look mad..?” Gabe frowned, stopping in front of him to look up at him.

“Huh?” Sam jumped a little, not expecting his voice. “Oh, sorry, how long have you been awake?”

Gabe frowned and glanced downwards before meeting his eyes again. “Long enough to hear voices but it didn’t know where they were coming from” He mumbled before shrugging. “Why are you mad?”

“I’m not, I’m just.. thinking. Dean came by, we were talking in the hall so we didn’t wake you up,” Sam shook his head.

Gabe pouted a little and crossed his arms. “..Okay” He mumbled softly, rubbing his biceps with his opposite hands.

Sam offered him a reassuring smile. "It's alright, don't worry," he said. "Are you hungry? It's been a few hours now."

He hesitated before shaking his head “Not really..” He shrugged. “Wanna just continue the movie?” He mumbled.

Sam nodded. "You only slept through a little bit of it, if you want to watch the parts you missed."

“Nah, I’ve seen the movie a lot” He smiled and went to sit next to the arm of the couch.

Sam smiled too, sitting next to him and resuming the movie before laying back against the couch.

Gabe smiled at him before slowly frowning. “And you’re sure you’re okay?” He mumbled, leaning against Sam’s shoulder before working his way under his arm.

“‘Course I am,” Sam nodded, rubbing his shoulder gently.

Gabe smiled widely and put his head down on Sam’s shoulder. “As long as you are..” He mumbled.

Sam nodded again, leaning his head on Gabe’s as they continued with the movie.


	8. Chapter 8

“Oh, there you are!” Gabe grinned as he closed the door to Sam’s apartment. “Okay so,” Gabe started, inviting himself in, moving to sit in Sam’s lap, shoving the book away from Sam. “I did some begging and pleading and whining and maybe threatening but you can absolutely come on tour with us!” He grinned.

Sam smiled brightly, closing his book and pushing it slightly away. “That’s great!” He said happily. “How long until then?”

“About a month now” He mumbled and leaned forward to kiss Sam quickly. They’d gotten less awkward with kissing and being affectionate, but even then Gabe refused to be official. “So what are your plans for all of tour?”

"Not sure honestly." Sam hummed to himself. "I could help out with selling things for you guys, if you wanted, since I won't exactly be working for a while. But I'll still come to watch you, too."

“We..” Gabe paused and blushed a little as he messed with his hands. “..could tell people” Gabe whispered softly, looking up at him with flittering eyes.

Sam paused to think about it, licking his lips. “We could.. if you want to,” he nodded, smiling a little.

“..I want to” Gabe mumbled before laughing nervously. “Or- we don’t” He laughed, leaning back until he was slowly sliding off Sam’s lap to lay on the floor. “Or I could wait for the floor to swallow me whole” He sighed, kicking Sam’s knee.

Sam snorted and leaned over to see him better. “Hey, if you want to tell them, we can. Pretty sure it’ll be fine.”

“I know but the public might say otherwise” He muttered, rolling onto his side, legs still brushing against Sam’s. “They’ll be all over you and people might hate you- or me, or the band and I don’t care about that, but I don’t wanna put anyone’s life in danger..” He whispered softly.

Sam bit his lip and nodded. “We could always wait a bit. But I mean, I don’t see why they would mind.”

“You have no idea how people are” He sighed and shifted to sit up, crossing his legs “People were giving death threats to Kali when we were together. People would come up to me and tell me it was a bad idea and that she wasn’t worth my time and they might’ve been right, now, but that doesn’t mean you can tell someone you’re going to kill them because you’re dating a famous person” He frowned. “Just.. Promise we’ll work it out no matter what?” He begged.

Sam frowned and nodded. “I’ll do my best to ignore them,” he assured him. “I know I don’t really know how a lot of fans are, I tend to stay away from most fan bases, but I do know how to deal with bullies.”

Gabe smiled and popped back up to his feet to stand in front of him. “Perfect” He smiled widely, leaning down to hold Sam’s head before staring into his eyes. “But we’ll work it out, right? If you’re just going to give up and not put your full effort into this relationship then I don’t want to be in it..” He whispered, biting his lips as his eyes teared up. “I don’t wanna end up hurt again”

Sam placed his hands over top of Gabe’s. “I don’t want to hurt you. I promise you, I am putting forth my full effort.”

Gabe stared with a frown for a few seconds, eyes darting back and forth to read Sam’s expressions. His thumb rubbed Sam’s cheekbone gently before he wrapped his arms around Sam’s neck to hug him, pressing his face deep into Sam’s neck. “..I like you, Sam” He whispered.

Sam smiled and held his arms around Gabe’s back. “I like you too. A lot.”

“I’d hope so. I’m putting very little expectations with you and a shit ton of trust and responsibilities” He laughed, rubbing his tears on Sam’s shoulder. “And I just.. use jokes to hide the fact I’m scared” He snorted, sniffling as he continued wiping his eyes on Sam.

Sam moved one hand to wipe a couple of tears from his face. “We’ll make it work. I’m sure we can handle it.”

Gabe laughed as he leaned up to shift around until he was sitting on Sam’s knee. “I know” He smiled, rubbing his eyes “I don’t wanna be mean, but please don’t let me down” He whispered, pouting at Sam.

“Not in my plans,” Sam assured him, running a hand over his hair once before resting it on his shoulder.

Gabe sighed and smiled at Sam again. “Just don’t let me down, Samshine” He mumbled and pressed a kiss to the corner of Sam’s lips. He stood up afterward, patting Sam’s head before heading to the door.

Sam smiled after him. “See you again soon?”

“Yeah” Gabe mumbled softly. “Just gotta think about some stuff more” He smiled, messing with the edge of the door as he opened it. “Can we talk about it more, later?” He asked bashfully.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Sam nodded.

Gabe grinned as he waved a little “I could almost say I love you” He stuck his tongue out before slipping out the door.

Sam smiled, waiting until the door was shut to pick up his book again, fiddling with it instead of actually reading it.

Gabe smiled to himself in the hall, standing awkwardly. He glanced at the door, debating on walking back in or going to his car. He hummed and reopened the door, closing it behind him. He wordless walked over to Sam and moved his hands to sit in his lap, under his chin before grabbing the remote to turn on his TV.

Sam stared at him in confusion as he came back in, then simply rested his chin on Gabe’s head and stared at the TV. “Welcome back.”

Gabe hummed in acknowledgment as he surfed through channels. He took Sam’s arms to wrap around his waist as he changed the channel to some cartoon.

Sam tilted his head where it was resting and stared at the TV, hugging his waist.

Gabe smiled widely as he glanced up at Sam before turning his attention back to the TV. “I think I can upgrade the phrase to ‘I really like you’ instead of ‘I like you’”

Sam grinned, staying where he was. “Well, I really like you too.”

“That’s gay, Samsquatch” He smirked a little, tapping the remote to his chin as he watched.

Sam laughed and turned to lay on his cheek. “Little bit?”

Gabe snorted, covering his mouth a little. “Only a little.. one could say.. just the tip” Gabe giggled.

Sam snorted, pressing his face into his hair before lifting it again. “Just the tip?” He laughed.

“Just a bit of the tip” He laughed, wheezing a little as he laughed. “Fuck!” He laughed, tears forming in his eyes.

“Christ,” Sam laughed, shaking his head as he planted his face back into Gabe’s hair.

Gabe sighed, reaching up to wipe his eyes with a wide smile. “We’re done, get out, we’re done” He mumbled and chuckled again, wiping his sleeve on his leg.

“Get out? I live here,” Sam pointed out with a laugh.

“I live here too” Gabe muttered, smiling when the cartoon on the TV did something funny.

“Fair,” Sam replied with a smile.

Gabe smiled at that, tilting his head back to stare at Sam upside down.

Sam looked down at him and smiled. “Hi.”

Gabe giggled and snorted. “You have a double chin from here” He mumbled before pressing a kiss to Sam’s chin.

Sam laughed and tilted his head down more to kiss him. “Attractive isn’t it?”

“It’s charming me” Gabe laughed, leaning onto Sam’s shoulder to stare at him. “Somehow” He teased, sticking his tongue out at Sam.

“Somehow,” Sam echoed with a laugh.

“Okay-“ Gabe laughed and pressed a kiss to Sam’s lips. “How else are you charming me then?” He smiled. “I want to know”

“I don’t know, my nerdiness?” Sam shrugged. “My mediocre cooking.. which I’m starting to practice more.”

“I like your cooking. Mostly because it’s better than my brothers’ stuff” He mumbled before taking ahold of Sam’s hand. “Ah.. the chef” Gabe mumbled dramatically. “You’re mediocre cooking has wooed me” He fake gasped. “Kiss me, my love” He whispered before laughing.

Sam laughed along with him, leaning down again to quickly kiss him. “Does this mean I need a “Kiss the Cook” apron?”

“Fuck no” Gabe shook his head with a small smile. “I’m kissing all the cooks then, so let’s hope your brother isn’t there” Gabe mumbled.

“I don’t think anyone would be very happy with that,” Sam nodded. “Cas might fight you.”

“I don’t know. How jealous would you get if I started talking with other people? Hypothetically, I don’t like anyone else nor would I give you up, but let’s just say I was starting to talk with someone else?” Gabe asked, pure curiosity in his voice.

Sam paused and ducked his head a little with a shrug. “A.. bit. A lot.. Ish.”

Gabe smiled widely and leaned closer to Sam’s face, smirking a little. “Your face is cute” He mumbled before pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t worry, I don’t like cheaters” He mumbled before wrapping his arms around Sam’s neck. “Or hospitals.. or being tickled” He mumbled.

Sam snorted and leaned towards him. “Same, honestly. I know it hasn’t been that long since we’ve met, but still.”

Gabe smiled, poking Sam’s nose. “To be fair, you’ve known me longer” He pointed out with a laugh. “And how old are you?” He mumbled, a little shy to the fact he never asked.

“Nineteen, just a few months younger than you,” Sam said, tilting his head.

Gabe smiled a little to himself and nodded. “Cool- I was thinking for a second you were like twenty-two and already more successful than me” He sighed in relief.

Sam shook his head. “You’re plenty successful. You’ve built up an audience for yourself and your brothers, you sing well, you play guitar.”

"But am I going to Stanford?" Gabe crossed his arms to stare at Sam with a cocky smile. "No" He grinned.

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t smart,” Sam shrugged. “Or not successful.”

“I know what you mean, but dad really wanted me to go to College” He mumbled, rubbing his neck. “Not really the smartest brother..”

“I doubt it. You’re plenty smart,” Sam insisted, furrowing his brow. “Not everyone’s strong in the same areas.”

Gabe shrugged a little, head tilting back on Sam’s shoulder to stare at the ceiling. “Thanks, Sam” He mumbled, reaching up to rub his eyes.

Sam nodded, reaching around to rub his shoulder with his thumb. “Just telling the truth.”

“So what are you doing, reading at seven in the morning? How are you not tired?” He pouted.

“Oh, um, just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep,” Sam shrugged, reaching to absentmindedly mess with the cover of the book. “So.. books.”

“Oh..” Gabe mumbled and sniffled. “Your good morning text woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Plus I wanted to tell you in person.. and maybe wanted to see you” Gabe shrugged with a smile.

Sam smiled softly back at him. “Glad you did, honestly. Missed you. And uh.. sorry for waking you up. I did wait a couple of hours before I sent it, though, if it makes it better.”

“How long have you been awake?” Gabe frowned before pausing. “Don’t answer that- Just let me sleep on you and it’ll make up for it” He mumbled, leaning forward to lay on Sam’s shoulder. “I would apologize for our relationship being me sleeping on you half the time, but I’m honestly not sorry” He mumbled.

“You don’t need to be anyway,” Sam said, shaking his head. “Go on and sleep, I’ll read until you wake up again.”

“What are you gonna do when I do wake up?” He asked, looking up at him.

“I dunno. Make breakfast?” Sam shrugged. “If you’re hungry anyway. You can help if you want, you’re the better cook.”

“I would love to cook for you” Gabe whispered before yawning. “But sleep is my soulmate”

“Sleep then,” Sam told him, brushing the hair from Gabe’s face and picking up his book.

Gabe chuckled softly and nestled into Sam’s neck, easily falling asleep within seconds. When he woke up, he was still against Sam, pressing between his arm and chest. He inhaled deeply and moved his arm to rub his eyes. He turned to see Sam almost done with the book now, lifting his head to stare at Sam.

Sam glanced at him as he felt him move, setting his book aside. “Sleep well?” He asked with a smile.

Gabe smiled and lowered his hand into his lap. “Yeah” He whispered before pressing his cheek against Sam’s shoulder. “What time is it?”

“Eh, a little after ten I think,” Sam shrugged. “I thought about sleeping a little more, but meh.”

Gabe frowned a little and leaned up, trying to set his hair down on the side. “Do you want to sleep for a while, while I make you something?” He mumbled.

“Eh, I think I’ll be okay. This happens a lot,” Sam shook his head.

“No, let me make you something. What do you want, baby? Breakfast or lunch?” He asked, setting a hand on Sam’s shoulders.

Sam smiled a little. “Doesn’t matter. Chef’s choice.”

“Alright,” Gabe smiled and moved to sit up, climbing out of Sam’s lap. “Lay down and get a few more minutes of sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s ready” He patted Sam’s head before leaning down to kiss his forehead. “Now get sleeping!” He grinned and walked past the couch to Sam’s kitchen.

Sam whines and wrinkled his nose, then sighed and flopped over to lay down on the couch.

“No whining” Gabe called out softly, shuffling around in the kitchen for a while. He shuffled back in to find Sam asleep, setting the food on the table before leaning up to kiss Sam’s temple. He smiled and sat on the floor, taking some of Sam’s hair to tuck behind his ear. “Sammy” He whispered playfully. “Do you want a wet willy?”

Sam jumped and grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. “How long was I asleep?”

“About an hour. Maybe forty minutes” Gabe smiled. “You deserve sleep though” He mumbled and glanced at the plate before smiling at Sam. “I found your wine and cooked with that. I didn’t know you drank wine. I was a little surprised” He admitted with a chuckle.

Sam snorted and nodded. “Yeah, sometimes. Not very often though. It’s usually beer or something strong.”

“Saw the whiskey” He nodded and stood up to offer the plate to Sam. “Honestly I don’t know what it is but my brothers like it and it’s easy for me to make, so enjoy I guess” He laughed.

Sam smiled and took the plate from him. “Thank you, I’m sure it’s great.”

Gabe shrugged and pat his head before leaving to go back into the kitchen. “Just don’t choke” He teased.

“No promises,” Sam snorted, starting in on his food.

“Please don’t, I like this boyfriend” Gabe called out before freezing, realizing what he’s said. “I mean- if we are..” He called out a bit shyer before turning back to the sink to rub dishwater. “If you want..” He mumbled, muffled by the water.

Sam looked up excitedly, eyes wide. “Are you.. are we making it official?”

Gabe frowned as he stared at the water. “I..” He sighed and glanced at Sam, a guilty look on his face as he saw how happy Sam was. “I’ve been thinking about it” He called out a little louder, looking away before turning the water off. “I’m sorry” He mumbled.

Sam tilted his head to the side. “Sorry for what? You have nothing to be sorry for. If you’re ready then.. so am I.”

Gabe smiled a little and shook his head at Sam. “I-“ He sighed and tapped the counter. “I don’t know yet. I’m afraid of reactions and a lot of bashing and..” He shrugged a little. “I don’t think I’m ready..” He whispered, taking a plate from the water to scrub at.

Sam’s expression dimmed a bit, but he nodded in understanding. “Hey, don’t worry about it, alright? We’ve got time,” he said, smiling at him reassuringly.

Gabe smiled and nodded a little before looking back at Sam. “..Thanks. Even though I don’t deserve it for being shit to you” He sighed, blowing hair from his face.

“Being shit to me?” Sam repeated in confusion. “I think you’re great.”

“Yeah but it’s been months and I’m still not ready” He frowned. “I wish you would just demand for me to be your boyfriend and force me to get over it, but it’s not gonna be easy like it was with Asmodeus” He mumbled.

Sam frowned and sighed. “I know, and I’m not blaming you for not being ready. There are some things you don’t just get over, I get it.”

Gabe shrugged and smiled at Sam before quickly drying his hands. “I’m almost there” He whispered, coming up to Sam to hold his face as he kissed him. “Just give me a little more time” He mumbled and took Sam’s empty plate to take back to the kitchen.

“I will,” Sam promised, standing up to follow him.

Gabe glanced back at him awkwardly. “And I appreciate it” He smiled, going back to dishes to set a plate in the empty sink. “It’s strange actually having a nice person to date when all you’ve really been with is shit people” He confessed. “Thanks for being a decent human being Sam” He laughed.

Sam snorted and nodded. “I like to think most people are decent, but.. you meet some that aren’t from time to time. I’m also glad that you’re a good person.”

“I’m not that good” Gabe laughed as he drained his water and went to rinse the dishes. “I can get shitty when I’m so annoyed”

“Well yeah, but that’s just people,” Sam shrugged. “I can too.”

Gabe laughed and looked up at Sam. “No you can’t” He mumbled.

“I mean, it’s usually worse when it’s Dean or something, but I definitely can,” Sam snorted. “Just ask him.”

“No” Gabe shook his head and smiled. “You don’t have a single mean bone in your body” Gabe snorted.

“That’s.. debatable,” Sam shrugged and laughed. “But the point is, being snappy is pretty normal.”

“You’re not though” Gabe grinned, looking back at Sam. “You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever d-.. been.. we’re-..” He bit his cheek and turned back to the dishes with a pout.

Sam smiled softly, leaning over to wrap his arms around him from behind. “Does ‘met’ work for now?”

Gabe jumped before looking up at him with a small smile. “..Yeah” He mumbled, leaning back for a second before going back to rinsing plates. “I’m sorry” He mumbled again

“Nothing to be sorry for. You aren’t doing anything wrong,” Sam assured him, resting his chin on Gabe’s head.

Gabe shrugged softly, trying to keep his head still for Sam. “I know, but I feel like you’re gonna get sick of it eventually” He admitted and smiled a little. “I assume you won’t, but I can’t just assume” He laughed.

“I know, I get it, but I’m not gonna leave just because you’re not ready to officially date again,” Sam replied, absentmindedly picking at Gabe’s shirt.

Gabe smiled, setting the last glass in the strainer before drying his hand. “You’re really too nice to me” Gabe teased. “It’s making me question whether or not you’re some fairy or small god, come to bless my life” He snorted.

“Psh, nah,” Sam laughed. “Just some college student.”

Gabe scoffed and crossed his arms. “Just some college student- You’re attending Stanford” Gabe muttered. “You’re not just some run of the mill teen, you’re going in to be a fucking lawyer”

“.. Fair, fair. One of the few moments of good luck that I’ve had,” Sam shrugged. “I’m doing my best.”

“You’re doing great” He mumbled and sighed a little as he checked the time. “..I should probably go and get some practice for tour in another four weeks” He whispered, making no effort to leave Sam’s side.

Sam nodded and hugged him a little tighter. “Probably.. they’ll be waiting for you.”

“You know they will” Gabe mumbled, fingers running along Sam’s arms as he waited out the time. He sighed and eventually leaned away from Sam. “Alright, lemme go” He mumbled.

Sam made a soft whining noise before letting go and standing up a little straighter. “Alright. Go ahead and get home before they start spam-calling,” he laughed softly.

“I will.. soon” He mumbled and leaned back against the counter before grabbing Sam around the neck. “I can’t just leave you” He complained, playing with Sam’s hair.

Sam smiled, reaching up to brush a thumb over his cheek. “I’ll see you again soon, we could go out to eat sometime if you want.”

“Yeah, we could go after practice” He smiled, glancing at the door before leaning up to kiss Sam for a few seconds. “Or, any time” He mumbled, sprinkling his face with kisses.

“Tonight works for me if it works for you,” Sam grinned.

“Perfect!” Gabe declared and pulled him into another long kiss, playing with his hair.

Sam smiled against his lips and slowly wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him a little closer. Gabe hummed as he stood on his toes to push himself against Sam, refusing to pull away even when he was being crushed by the counter. Sam raised a hand to brush through his hair, then lifted him up onto the counter so he wasn’t crushing him anymore. Gabe instantly gasped, not hesitating to continue the open mouth kiss. He moved his legs apart so Sam could be between them, feeling his face heat up. Sam leaned in a little further, hands trailing down to hold Gabe's hips.

Gabe tangled his fingers into Sam’s hair to pull on, effectively scaring himself when his phone went off. He carefully pulled his lips away from Sam’s breathless and face flushed he fumbled with his phone, clearing his throat as he picked up. “Hey- Lucien” Gabe mumbled, panting slightly. 

“Hey, we’re starting soon.. are you okay?” He asked with a frown. 

“Yeah..” Gabe mumbled, lips close to Sam’s as he silently kissed him. “Just fine” He mumbled around Sam’s lips. 

“Are you eating?” Lucien asked in confusion. 

“Uh.. yeah, sure” Gabe rambled, smiling at Sam. 

“Gabriel, what are you really doing right now?” He frowned. 

Gabe swallowed and stared at Sam with a guilty expression. “..Dishes..?”

“Gabriel”

Sam raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile. "Can he hear me?" he whispered, leaning away from the phone.

"Lu! Did you get ahold of him?" Michael's voice cut in in the background of the call.

“Yeah!” Lucien called out before pausing. “Sam?!” Lucien snapped, face growing angry. “What the fuck did you do?!” He snapped. 

Gabe frowned and bent his shoulders a little. “Nothing- we were eating and then I did some dishes and we had a bunch of jokes that made us laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe” Gabe quickly lied. 

Lucien grumbled and glanced at Michael. “Bullshit” He muttered. “Get your ass home” He frowned. 

Gabe frowned as well, glancing up at Sam. “..Okay” He whispered softly and let Lucien hang up for him.

Sam winced a little and slumped his shoulders. "Did I get you into trouble?" he asked. "Or am I expecting to be murdered later by your brother?"

Gabe sighed and moved to slide off the counter, leaning against it for a second. “..Both” Gabe frowned and moved to the living room before sighing. “I don’t wanna leave” He complained, sitting on the couch.

"I know," Sam sighed softly, leaning over the back of the couch. "But we'll see each other tonight, right?"

“..Probably not now” He mumbled. “They’ll find something to keep me busy” He sighed and stood up, watching Sam with guilty eyes. “I’ll tell you when I can see you again” He frowned and walked around the couch to the front door. “What if I just don’t go..?” he mumbled.

"Well, for us I think we'd like that, but your brothers would probably hunt us down," Sam pointed out, humming a bit before shaking his head and smiling. "You know my work schedule, if you have free time just stop by if you want."

Gabe smiled at him and nodded. “I might” He mumbled before sighing loudly again. “I don’t wanna” He complained, setting his head against the door. “If I wait long enough they’ll come and find me..” He mumbled, opening the door. “Maybe” he shrugged.

Sam tilted his head, smile still on his face. "It's alright, go on and make some music."

“Fine..” Gabe muttered, glaring at Sam. “I’ll see you soon” He mumbled, opening the door more to leave.


	9. Chapter 9

Gabe pulled away from Sam and smiled, playing with his hair. “I should get going back to my place.. Tour is only in a week now” He mumbled against the pillow in Sam’s bed.

Sam sighed a little, leaning his head toward Gabe's hand. "Yeah.. are you excited to go? You always seem really happy performing."

“Yeah! I love to tour and I love singing but it’s gonna be so different with you there” He smiled. “I’m excited” Gabe laughed softly, rubbing his fingers over Sam’s face before pressing another kiss to his lips.

Sam smiled as they pulled back again. "So am I. I've seen plenty of your shows, but I've never been with a tour for anything. Unless road trips count."

“It’s pretty fun for the most part. The food and people are the best” He smiled widely before letting go of Sam to sit up. “Alright.. I need to get going” He mumbled, checking his phone before sighing. “And of course it’s dark” He frowned.

"Do you want a ride back?" Sam offered, sitting up with him. "Or I guess you brought your car.. hm. I could always bring you back to get it."

“No, I don’t like driving in the dark and also don’t like having my car away from me” He mumbled on before sighing and laying back down. “Move over more” Gabe whispered, unbuckling his pants to try and get the belt off.

Sam snorted and scooted himself over, giving Gabe more room. He sat up to quickly pull off his t-shirt and socks, tossing them on the floor. "I'm making breakfast tomorrow."

“No fair” Gabe complained, dropping his pants on the floor. He remained in his boxers and brother’s shirt, glaring at Sam. “Maybe I wanted to” He muttered.

Yeah well, you always do, so it’s my turn to make something for you,” Sam insisted, sticking his tongue out childishly.

“Yeah-I like doing it!” Gabe whined, glaring at Sam. “You’re so mean!” He cried before launching himself at Sam, knocking him onto the bed as he kissed him.

Sam laughed softly, arms wrapped around Gabe’s back as he kissed him back.

Gabe pulled away with a smile, glaring at Sam. “I’m making breakfast” He declared, quickly turning over to lay facing away.

Sam snorted and rolled his side, then moved onto his side and pulled the blankets up for both of them. “Yeah, alright. Whoever wakes up first.”

Gabe nodded, pulling on the blankets on Sam’s side to bundle them up around his nose. Gabe yawned, almost instantly falling asleep, rolling over to kick Sam. Sam tugged on the blanket a little to keep some for himself before slowly drifting off.

When Gabe woke up, he was wound up in the sheets, head encased in pillows. He yawned and stretched, reaching out for Sam’s body before quickly realizing he was gone. He sat up in dazed confusion, looking around with wide eyes. He froze in place, unable to move before realizing this was Sam. He dragged his knees up to hug his bare legs, taking time to look around Sam’s room.

A small clattering noise came from the direction of the kitchen, followed by annoyed mumbling. There was a pause before more, quieter noises followed, then footsteps approaching the bedroom. Gabe frowned and groaned before flopping down. He sighed and pulled the blankets up more to cover his head as he tried to go back to sleep.

The door was pushed open softly, then more footsteps that were obviously attempting to be quiet. A plate was set on the small dresser next to Gabe’s side of the bed before Sam started to leave again.

Gabe glanced up at Sam, panic settling into his stomach as he shot up. “Where are you going?” Gabe asked him, looking small and scared.

Sam jumped and snapped his head back with a small sigh. “Ah- Sorry, I didn’t know you were awake. Just.. heading back out to the kitchen, or I was.”

“..Oh” Gabe mumbled softly, bringing his knees further into his chest. “Okay,” He whispered, staring at his feet before burrowing them under the blanket.

“I can stay here,” Sam said, inching back towards the bed. “I just didn’t want to wake you up if you were asleep.”

“No, I’m awake” He frowned, hands gripping at his knees with force. “..I thought you left” He mumbled softly, dragging his nail across his knee.

Sam frowned and sat down on the bed with him. “I’m not leaving. You’d have to drag me away.”

Gabe nodded and crawled forward to sit next to him, leaning into his chest. He inhaled deeply and held it for a while before letting it go. “..Asmodeus used to get up before and when I asked him why, he said it was because he hated sleeping in a bed with me and didn’t want to be near me” He mumbled, reaching up to grab around Sam’s chest before realizing he didn’t have a shirt on.

Sam gently took hold of his hands, rubbing his thumbs over them. “Hey. I’m not him. I love being with you.”

Gabe smiled widely with watery eyes. He squeezed Sam’s hands tightly before whispering. “I think I love you”

Sam smiled brightly. “I love you too.”

“Hey, I said think!” Gabe poked his chest before pulling away with a sniffle. “I don’t know yet” He teased.

Sam shrugged and continued smiling. “I’ll take it.”

Gabe laughed and shrugged gently. “You’re weird” He mumbled and moved apart to wipe his eyes.

“Aw, thanks,” Sam snorted, tilting his head. “I take that as a compliment.”

“It was meant as one” He mumbled, shifting over to grab his plate of pancakes, setting them in his lap. He hesitated before poking the top of it and frowned. “I’m sorry I panicked” He mumbled, taking a small bite.

“Don’t worry, I’m not upset, and I’m not leaving,” Sam assured him, resting a hand on his knee.

Gabe smiled and looked at his legs before continuing to eat to the point he ate over half in a minute, finally stopping to breathe. “..I don’t wanna put pants on” He complained, continuing to eat.

Sam laughed and shrugged. “Don’t then. Unless you have somewhere to be.. they aren’t expecting you for practice are they?”

“No, we don’t like to practice for weeks on end before a concert because it gets us bored so we practice one or twice the month before” He mumbled before sighing. “What I’m saying is, I can’t just want around here in my underwear all day. It’ll be weird for you” He mumbled, setting his plate with some food still on it to the side. He yawned again and face planted into Sam’s chest, sighing.

Sam shook his head. “Nah. I mean, I’ve been wandering around shirtless for a while now.”

“I know, isn’t it amazing?” Gabe mumbled, putting a hand on Sam’s chest before leaning over to kiss randomly over it. “It should be illegal for you to wear shirts”

Sam laughed. “I don’t know about that, but attempts are made to keep in shape I guess.”

“Attempts? Oh shut the fuck up” Gabe muttered, leaning back on the bed to kick Sam’s shoulder and chest. “You’re a literal model, you modest jack ass”

Sam shrugged, leaning over a bit. “I dunno, I just like the exercise really,” he said, smiling a little.

“You’re a fucking asshole, you know that?” Gabe frowned, moving to rub his foot in Sam’s face.

Sam moved his head back, nose wrinkling as he laughed and pushed his foot away from his face. “Why?”

Gabe squealed, jerking his foot back to hold as he smiled. “Sorry!” He laughed, rubbing the bottom of his toes. “They’re sensitive”

Sam snorted and laughed. “Sorry, my bad.”

“I’m very ticklish” He mumbled with a shrug and pulled his shirt down as he sat up, trying to cover his boxers.

Sam shrugged and smiled. “I can see that. It’s alright though, some people are.” He leaned back, holding himself up with his hands. “Do you want any more food? There’s still some left.”

“Ah, no.. I’ve already eaten too much, but thank you” He smiled and leaned over to kiss Sam quickly. “Besides, I shouldn’t eat as much as I do”

“Alright, but leftovers are an option too,” Sam shrugged. “And you really aren’t that bad with eating. It’s not like you’re dangerously overweight.”

“Please don’t give me this speech” Gabe mumbled, leaning away from Sam. “I don’t wanna hear about all of this again. My brothers jump my ass enough” He sighed.

Sam raised his hands, shaking his head. “Alright, Alright. Change of topic?”

Gabe shrugged and frowned, looking up at Sam. “I want a dog” He mumbled, leaning back again to put his feet on Sam. “Like, a corgi though” He mumbled.

Sam smiled and tilted his head. “Corgis are cute. We probably could one day, but after the tour, ya know?”

“After all of the tours,” He mumbled and rubbed his forehead. “Not to mention we’re just one day closer to tour” He grumbled. “Shit I forgot about our meet and greet thing” He groaned and moved his legs to sit up again. “I don’t wanna go” He muttered.

“I could go with you if it’d make you feel better,” Sam offered.

“I can’t put you through that” Gabe mumbled and moved to stand up, searching for his pants. “My first time was hell. I had strangers hugging me and tackling me to the point I had a panic attack and Michael had to take me to our restricted table and calm me down. And I don’t have panic attacks” He frowned.

Sam frowned and bit his lip. “I mean.. I could just be off to the side, just as nearby support.”

“You’ll be questioned, for sure. People will yell for your attention and yeah it’ll be a mess” He sighed and finally found his pants to put on. “If you wanna go, you can, but be prepared to be questioned” He frowned.

Sam took a moment to think about it before nodding slowly. “I know my limits. I should be okay.”

“Alright..” Gabe mumbled, glancing at him. “Get a shirt on” he smiled and grabbed his phone to call Michael, waiting for him to pick up.

Michael answered after it had rung a few times. “Hey, Gabe. Are you at Sam’s still?”

“Yeah, long story, he wants to come with us today” Gabe smiled at Sam, pressing a kiss to his forehead as he passed and went to the living room to find his shoes.

“Huh? I mean, I guess, but he knows there’ll be a lot of people right?” Michael said in confusion.

“He says he’d deal..” Gabe whispered, sitting on the floor to put his shoes on. “I’m worried too” He whispered.

Michael hummed. “Well.. I suppose it’s not really up to me. We’ll see how it goes. Might be a little overwhelming.”

“Yeah. Maybe people will like him” He shrugged, before smiling. “I’ll talk soon, okay? See you in like twenty minutes at the hall”

“Alright. Be safe.”

“Ready to go?” Sam asked as he came out of his room in clean clothes.

Gabe rolled his eyes before standing up with excitement. “Yeah, it’s at the um, community hall in town” He mumbled, opening the door. “Michael’s texted me so he’s gonna bring me new clothes so we can just go there”

“Sounds good,” Sam replied, taking Gabe’s keys from a hook on the wall and handing them to him. “Time to wander.”

Gabe laughed and led him outside to his car. “I’m gonna be honest, I’m uh.. not the best driver” He admitted, opening his car door to get into the driver’s side.

Sam snorted and shrugged. “That’s okay. Dean goes 80 wherever he wants.”

“Um no, I’m slower and more scared” He coughed out a laugh. “I um.. Lost a brother to a car wreck so I’m always more careful now” He mumbled, buckling up as he started the car.

“Oh.. I’m sorry,” Sam said sincerely, frowning a little. “I know it always sucks to lose someone.”

“It’s alright” Gabe smiled anyway, pulling out slowly to start down the road. “It’s been like a year” He rambled, waving his hand around a little. “He um. Was going to join the band once he graduated, and it was the summer after his senior year. He was really excited that we let him and was driving to his first practice and..” Gabe shrugged and glanced at the mirror. “A car drove right into him and flipped his car over. They said he died instantly and it was painful but” Gabe shrugged again, putting his turn signal on and switching lanes.

Sam bit the inside of his cheek and sighed a little. “I’m really sorry,” he said again.

“Don’t be sorry. Really, it’s not your fault” He smiled at Sam before sighing softly. “I’d hold your hand, but I’m not good at driving with one hand” He laughed softly.

Sam smiled a bit and opted for resting his hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “It’s alright. Just keep yourself safe.”

“I always try to. Not to mention I’ve got precious cargo in the car” Gabe smirked a little as he waited for the red light to turn green, slowly pulling out.

Sam snorted and nodded. “You’re right. You are in the car.”

“Oh honey, I’m not a mirror” He mumbled and smiled adoringly at Sam. “..I love you” He blurted out quietly.

Sam glanced at him, smile brightening as he faced forward again. “I love you.”

Gabe laughed, scrunching up his nose as he smiled. “Does that really make you that happy?” He mumbled.

Sam nodded. “It does, actually, yeah,” he laughed.

“Oh,” Gabe mumbled and burst into laughter. “I’m sorry for laughing, It’s just goofy that someone actually is happy about me loving them” He shrugged with a smile. “But it’s nice!” He quickly corrected.

Sam smiled at him and leaned back against the seat. “Well, I am happy. Also because I get to spend even longer with you.”

Gabe laughed a little as he pulled into a big gate, looking up to wave at a man in a suit before pulling into the opening gates. “Yeah well.. I hope you at least have fun” He mumbled and smiled at Sam as he pulled into a very small parking spot with two other cars in it. “Come on” he smiled and got out of the car, walking up the cement path to the giant building in front of them.

Sam got out after him, looking up at the building as they approached, then looking ahead again as they entered. “Where exactly are we going?”

“It’s like an activity center. Concerts happen here. Birthday parties happen here. They even offer roller skating” He mused, walking inside to hear everyone screaming. He waved to the fans behind the ropes and motioned for Sam to follow him up the stairs. “It’s pretty cool!” He called out, trying to talk over everyone.

Sam gazed around at their surroundings. “Looks it!” he said to Gabe, talking a little loudly so his voice wasn’t drowned out. “Are your brothers waiting for us?”

“Probably” He shrugged and got to the top, leading Sam down some hallways and to a room with a tall ceiling and roped off table where his brothers were playing. “Hey” He waved and came up to them, immediately catching a bag. 

“Go get changed and hurry” Lucien smiled at him. “Unless you wanna continue to make out with your boyfriend” Lucien joked, tapping his legs with his drum sticks. 

“As much as I love my boyfriend, I need to get changed” Gabe smiled and walked behind the table and through a door to the side. 

Lucien stopped drumming and stared at Sam in awe. “..Are you?” He asked softly before looking at Michael.

Michael raised an eyebrow as he looked between him and Sam, smiling softly.

Sam stared after Gabe, then to Lucien. “Uh.. we haven’t made it OFFICIAL official yet. Or hadn’t but.. I’m gonna take that as a good sign and be happy.”

Lucien laughed loudly and shook his head. “I mean. I’m sure he meant it, but he could’ve been joking” He shrugged. “I’d ask still” He mumbled. “It is Gabe after all”

Sam snorted and nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Either way, we’re happy for you guys, Gabe mostly,” Balthazar snorted, picking at his guitar strings.

“It’s been a while since Gabe has taken a relationship seriously. I mean, when he told us he was getting engaged, we were all pretty skeptical, mostly because we hated Kali and figured she was only using him for money” Lucien rambled before shrugging “And when he told us he was gonna be a dad- oh god” He whispered, putting a hand on his forehead.

Sam winced, brow furrowing as he frowned. “I don’t blame you for being protective.. he doesn’t deserve that.”

“Exactly why Lu was so skeptical of you,” Michael nodded with a sigh.

“We don’t need another Kali coming into his life,” Balthazar muttered.

“I didn’t like that you were a fan really, but I’m glad he’s happy with you” Lucien shrugged and smiled softly at Sam. 

“Me too” Gabe laughed bringing back the backpack and in clean clothes. “Sam’s a great guy” He grinned. 

“Yeah, Sam you can ask him now, I’m gonna go tell them we’re ready” Lucien smiled and hopped off the table to walk to the entrance of the room.

“What, I-“ Sam started as the other two brothers followed quickly after Lucien, leaving him with Gabe. “Uh.. Alright then.” He smiled and cleared his throat softly.

Gabe blinked and looked at Lucien before staring at Sam with wide eyes. “What?” He asked obliviously.

“Uh..” Sam hesitated, then shifted his weight. “Did you mean it when you said boyfriend?” He asked softly, smiling a little.

Gabe’s smile dropped as he glanced away. “I.. I thought.. we..” He mumbled, looking like he was about to cry. “I wanted to..” He whimpered, looking at Sam. “I thought you..” He swallowed and stared at Sam’s face as his own heated up. “I..” He panicked, unable to create a sentence.

“No, no, it’s okay!” Sam assured him, hesitantly reaching for his hands. “I do want to, I just.. I want to make sure you want to.”

Gabe nodded shakily, his shoulders wracking as he breathed. “Yeah.. I- I did” He mumbled, flinching when someone else touched him. 

“Gabe? Hey, hey, come here” Lucien whispered to him, bringing him closer. Gabe instantly hugged his brother, breathing in deeply as he held onto Sam’s hand. “Don’t cry” Lucien mumbled, squeezing Gabriel tightly. “If you cry you’ll ruin your make up”

Gabe laughed, holding on tighter to Sam’s hand as he buried his eyes into his brother’s shoulder. “What makeup?”

“The make up you just cried off” Lucien joked to make his brother laugh again. 

“Oh no!” Gabe smiled, sniffling as he laughed.

Sam laughed quietly with them, squeezing Gabe’s hand reassuringly. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you panic..”

“What?” Gabe asked softly. 

Lucien turned to give Sam a near-death glare before turning to look at Gabe. “Nothing Gabey, you’re fine” Lucien smiled widely. “Just take a deep breath bub, you’ll be fine” He laughed, patting Gabe’s head. Gabe smiled and rubbed his eyes a little. Lucien let go of his brother and forced Sam to let go of Gabe’s hand so he could drag Sam away a few feet. “I know you don’t know this, but don’t bring it up” He whispered. “Gabe doesn’t know when he’s having a panic attack. If you tell him he is, he just gets freaked out even more” Lucien shrugged and smiled. “Ya kind of just have to comfort him until he’s done”

Sam shuffled uncomfortably. “Ah.. Sorry. I don’t really know how to handle panic attacks.. but I guess you could tell that,” he said awkwardly, an apologetic smile on his face. “I won’t bring it up. Again.”

“It’s cool, we just don’t like to see Gabe like that” Lucien smiled softly. “He is the baby” He mumbled and glanced at the fans starting to file in. “You might wanna sit at the table or something” He offered. “It can get messy” He laughed, taking out his sharpie. 

Gabe groaned a little before smiling widely, taking out his own sharpie. “Sharpies to the ready!” He grinned.

Sam snorted and fiddled with the hem of his shirt before dropping it, looking out at the crowd. “Should I sit out there or.. back here?” he asked.

“Sit by me!” Gabe grinned, instinctively taking ahold of Sam’s hand to lead him to the table. “It’s more of a Q and A, but also meet and greet after” He explained before shrugging. “You kind of do everything. Like, taking pictures and them asking questions and you have to answer them” Gabe tried to explain as a mic was put in front of him. “Ya ge-“ Gabe jumped when he heard his voice in the speakers, making the fans laugh. He laughed softly and leaned over towards it. “My bad” He mumbled before turning back to Sam. “Sorry” He smiled.

Sam nodded in understanding, leaning away from the mic before speaking. “Gotcha. Not sure why they’d ask me questions since they don’t know me, but I’ll prepare myself,” he laughed.

Gabe frowned at him and leaned over to smack him in the head. “I didn’t drag you here. You willingly came and I wondered why. Don’t blame me for your own actions” Gabe mumbled, smiling as Michael sat on the other side of him.

“I’m not, I’m doing this to myself,” Sam snorted.

“Well, good luck, and don’t let them intimidate you,” Michael joked.

“The teenagers are especially scary,” Balthazar scoffed.

“I mean, you might be joking, but you aren’t wrong,” Michael laughed.

“Sh- keep your mouths away from the mics” Gabe whispered, covering his. 

Lucien stared before clearing his throat to lean into his mic. “Fuck you” He smiled at Gabe, listening to the fans laugh. 

Gabe frowned at him and sighed, looking at Sam before shrugging. “You can never change him” He muttered, the mic catching it. “Shit- okay! Hi, We’re Higher Archy, a trash band-“

“Gabe” Lucien glared stubbornly. 

“Okay we’re all trash brothers and in a band that is slightly less trash,” He laughed. “I’m too tired for this” He mumbled and rubbed his eyes. “Introductions?” He smiled.

“Introductions? I can do introductions,” Balthazar grinned.

“No,” Michael deadpanned.

“But it’ll be funny-“

“No. You’re banned from introductions. You right there, questions, go,” Michael laughed, gesturing to a girl. “What’s your name?”

The girl laughed and stepped up a little closer with a mic. “Hi, my name’s Kat, just wanted to know what you guys are most excited for when you start touring again.”

“Sleeping.. a lot” Lucien shrugged and looked at Balthazar. He was on the end with Balthazar next to him, then Michael, Gabe, and Sam.

“Hm, honestly, going to all of the restaurants we stop at whenever we do this,” Balthazar shrugged. “There’s a pretty good burger place somewhere.”

Michael hummed. “Fair to both of you. I’m gonna agree with Lucien though.. but also, playing the shows.”

Gabe twisted his face as he thought and shrugged. “Not losing my guitar pick” Gabe smiled proudly as everyone laughed. “But seriously, I really like just performing in general, but I think my favorite is when we’re alone together and just do the stupidest shit like that time Michael put ramen in the microwave but burned it because he was too tired to remember the water”

“Shh!” Michael squinted at him.

“Or how about the time that he was trying to make coffee, but forgot what he was doing and just dumped coffee grounds in his mug,” Balthazar laughed, leaning back in his chair.

“Tour is tiring!” Gabe laughed into the mic before glancing at Sam with a smile. “What’s your favorite part, Sammy?” He smiled, pushing the mic over to him a little.

“Huh?” Sam blinked and stumbled over his words for a second before speaking clearer. “Um, going,” he laughed awkwardly. “Just, going along.”

Gabe smiled widely and reached over to pat his hand, moving his chair closer to Sam’s. He pushed the mic away and whispered to Sam. “You okay? You seem nervous” He mumbled, sticking his arm under the table, gesturing to Sam to lower his.

Sam smiled softly, reaching to take his hand under the table. “I’ll be okay. Just getting used to it.”

“Alright, Thank you,” Balthazar said to the girl with a grin, then nodded to the next person. “Shoot.”

This girl stared blankly at Gabe before softly asking. “Who’s that?”

Gabe froze and glanced at her with a smile. “This is Sam. He’s the guy that caught my guitar pick when it fell into the soundhole” Gabe explained. 

The girl stared before slowly backing up to let the next person up. “Are you dating?” She asked excitedly. 

Gabe paused and glanced at Sam before thinking. “It’s not.. dating really, but more like.. in a relationship?” Gabe asked in confusion. The next thing he knew was people were asking and squealing. Gabe smiled a little and watched Sam.

Sam glanced out over the crowd, keeping up his smile as he scooted his chair closer to Gabe’s and leaned in towards the mic. “Uh.. hi.”

“How long have you been dating?” A girl in the front was jumping up and down. 

“Wait I need to know what he’s like!”

“How tall is Sam?”

Gabe frowned and looked at his brothers before frowning at Sam. He pushed the mic away and squeezed Sam’s hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you” He mumbled and looked down.

Sam simply shook his head, rubbing his thumb over Gabe’s. “My choice, Gabe. I kinda signed up for this,” he pointed out. “Do you uh, want to answer for me this time though?”

“Uh” Gabe paused to turn and look at his brothers. “Can I..” He mumbled, gesturing to the mic. He smiled when Michael shrugged at him and waved his hand. “Um,” Gabe started. “We.. really liked each other after a while, so we started seeing each other, but.. I didn’t feel comfortable dating for a long time, and Sam actually waited for like six months before I was ready to be official. Which, was a very short time” He mumbled and shrugged. “He’s just.. really nice?” Gabe laughed and looked at Sam.

Sam laughed and rested his free arm on the table. “Also.. six foot four, for the person who asked.”

“Basically a descendant of bigfoot,” Balthazar joked with a shrug.

“That’s why I call him Samsquatch” Gabe mumbled and leaned over to lay his head on Sam’s shoulder. He watched his brothers smiling before closing his eyes to rest.

“You call him a lot of nicknames,” Michael snorted, rolling his eyes. “Honestly I couldn’t tell you most of them, but they exist.”

“They do” Gabe laughed softly, looking up at Sam to whisper. “Which one’s your favorite?” He mumbled softly.

Sam shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Samshine,” he whispered back. “I’d call you other names too if I could come up with any.”

“Aw! That’s my favorite one!” Gabe grinned at him before turning to lean up. “That’s okay, I’ll give you names you can call me. The list consists of “Little fucker.” He paused and shrugged, leaving it at that. 

“We just call you Gabby” Lucien mumbled. 

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be the same” Gabe shrugged, squeezing Sam’s hand.

“I’ll think of something eventually,” Sam snorted.

“Speaking of nicknames, while Gabe usually has one, Lucien’s consist of Lu, Luci, and asshole,” Michael interjected.

“It does” Gabe laughed. “Or he’s a big dick I call him Lucifer” He nodded softly.

“Ooh, that’s a fun one,” Balthazar laughed. “Ah shit, alright, moving on, more questions before we get distracted again.”

“No, I like this” A girl laughed and looked up at Sam and Gabe. “So did you meet?”

Gabe shared a look with Sam before frowning. “Uh.. I wanna say the first time was at the concert, but then we personally met when we found out your brother was dating my other brother and when my brother came over with your brother he brought you and you freaked out”

Sam shrugged and nodded. “After I chickened out of meeting backstage. Dean’s still an ass for not telling me.”

“I would’ve told you if I knew!” Gabe complained and huffed a little. “And I’m still mad at you for that” He glared, taking his hand away from Sam’s to cross his arms.

“I didn’t know you were serious, you guys never invite random people backstage,” Sam pointed out, pouting a little. “I haven’t made up for it yet?”

“No” Gabe mumbled, glancing back at him before leaning more towards him. “It might take some convincing” He teased, smiling up at Sam.

Sam snorted and smiled back down at him, then leaned forward to kiss him. Gabe smiled against Sam’s lips, listening to people scream.

“Hey-“ Lucien yelled, standing up. He huffed and picked up his chair to place between their’s, pushing them apart. 

“Hey-“ Gabe started before being pushed further toward Michael. 

Lucien sat between them, crossing his arms with a frown. Gabe pouted, hesitantly reaching for Sam’s hand, watching sadly as Lucien pushed his arm back.

“Knock it off Lu,” Michael sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. “Damn, they’re nineteen.” He stood up and pushed Sam’s arm until he stood from his chair, then gestured to his own. “Sit there.”

Gabe laughed, setting his head on the desk to hide his blushing. “Thanks?” He asked in confusion, pulling Sam closer to the chair. “Sit mother fucker” He complained and pulled on Sam’s arm. 

Lucien glared at Sam, standing up to stand between Gabe and Sam, looking up at him. “Don’t even think about it. 

Gabe wheezed with laughter, almost falling out of his chair as he stood up to stand between them. “Quick picking on him!” Gabe laughed. 

“You’re so tiny!” Someone randomly blurted. 

Gabe looked up at them before turning to look up at Lucien, then turned to look higher up at Sam. He blinked in realization before moving out of the way to sit down. “Whatever” He muttered.

Balthazar threw his head back in a laugh, causing the chair to unbalance where he was leaning back on it. He fell over with a loud yell and hit the ground with a thud. “Ah- shit! Fuck!”

“And this is why we don’t lean back in chairs,” Michael scoffed, grabbing Lucien’s arm to pull him away from Sam while walking over to help him up.

Gabe looked back at Balthazar and laughed, leaning forward to smack his head on the table, holding his forehead. “Ow- I-“ He snorted, continuing to laugh as he laid his head back down. 

“Fuck off- I’m older than you!” Lucien insisted as he jerked his arm away. “You can’t tell me what to do” He smiled playfully, letting Michael know he was only joking.

Sam laughed and ducked around Lucien while he was talking to Michael, sitting in the empty chair and scooting as close as he could to Gabe. “Are you alright?” He snorted. “Uh.. either of you?”

“No, this is where I die,” Balthazar groaned and he sat up.

“You’re all so dramatic,” Michael laughed, pushing jokingly at Lucien’s arm.

“Yeah” Gabe answered after a few seconds of laughing. “I’m good” He mumbled, leaning over to rest his head on Sam’s shoulder. 

“Back to the actual thing?” Lucien asked, glaring at Sam before sitting next to him.

“Yes,” Michael said, voice quiet since he was far from the mic.

“Ugh- next question?” Balthazar mumbled, rubbing his head.

“Uh.. well first off are you alright?” The boy who had stepped up asked. “Second, sorry to stay on the same topic, but are we gonna be seeing more of him?” He continued, gesturing to Sam.

“No, I am not okay,” Balthazar joked, then turned to Gabe and Sam. “Are we seeing more of Gigantor?”

Gabe shrugged and smiled at Sam. “I’d say so because he’s going on tour with us!” Gabe grinned, leaning over to hug his shoulders. 

“Did we ever announce tour?” Lucien whispered softly into the mic before looking at the shocked fans. “Guess not- We’re leaving in a month!” He laughed softly.

“Get your tickets, spread the word for our dumb asses!” Balthazar laughed, drumming on the table with his hands.

Gabe laughed and looked at Michael as he let go of Sam. “We’re bad at advertising” Gabe mumbled softly. “Even though we have a channel..”

“Speaking of when are you gonna post more on your youtube?” Someone whined. 

Gabe laughed nervously and frowned. “We’ll try to film some antics on tour, promise” Gabe mumbled.

“I can film,” Sam offered. “Some nice tour bus footage, maybe some backstage.”

“Sure, knock yourself out, just don’t break my camera,” Michael said with a short nod. “Alright, we’ll have dates out soon, promise. For now, next question?”

“Do any of you miss high school?”

“No!” Gabe snapped and frowned. “Just no” He pouted, crossing his arms.

“Come on, Kali can’t ruin your whole experience” Lucien smiled. 

“Yes, she can” Gabe muttered.

“She’s not here, she isn’t allowed to ruin your experience,” Sam said softly.

Gabe smiled and shrugged afterward, fingers picking anxiously at the end of the table. 

“I for one, didn’t like it because me and Michael looked so similar- yeah, twins, but you could tell us apart. They mixed up our senior pictures”

“You dyed your hair pink once,” Michael pointed out, then pulled out his phone. “I’m gonna find it.”

“Wait, really?” Sam laughed, leaning over to see.

“Give me that” Lucien snapped and took Michael’s phone. “We don’t bring up that phase” He muttered. 

“I think it was a family thing because Cas wanted to do it, and Balthazar also did it in high school and I did it just like a year or two ago” Gabe shrugged. “But we all had pink hair. My point is, it was pink” He shrugged.

Sam hummed and nodded. “Yeah, I can see it.”

“Give me my phone back, asshole!” Michael huffed, reaching to try and take it back.

“Here I have pictures of myself” He mumbled, sliding his phone over to Sam. “Guys back to questions!” Gabe laughed.

“Where’s the closest show gonna be?” Someone called out, murmurs of agreement rippling through the crowd.

“Aren’t we doing one here?” Gabe asked and smiled. “One here and then we have a list that we’ll be posting around our social media’s” Gabe shrugged.

“I’ll get it done,” Michael offered, leaning over on the table. “Everyone else has their own things to work on.”

“I’ll help you” Gabe mumbled and leaned back before looking at Michael. “I’m hungry” He frowned at his brother.

Michael raised an eyebrow. “We don’t have food.”

“Maybe you don’t have food,” Balthazar snorted.

“Do YOU have food?”

“Do you?” Gabe asked with wide eyes. “Bath- share” He whined.

“What? No! It’s my food!” Balthazar squinted at him, inching his chair back from the table.

“Balthazar!” He pouted and leaned on the table to whine. “..Come on” He whispered.

“Ughh, but I need an after-meet snack,” Balthazar huffed.

“Fine, I’ll just ignore you for the rest of the day” He muttered, leaning back to cross his arms.

Balthazar wrinkled his nose, then reached into his pocket and threw a bag of dry cereal toward him.

Gabe instantly jumped on it, hugging it close to his chest. He smiled mischievously and carefully opened the bag to start eating it. “Do you wanna start the anonymous asking now?” He asked Michael, turning to see Sam’s confused expression. “We give out slips of paper and pens and everyone gets to write a question in the box and we read it. If we don’t like it or find it offensive we toss it in the trash can” He gestured under the table. “And after that, we have a meet and greet that goes on for about two hours” He smiled widely at Sam. “I warned you” He joked, gesturing for their bodyguard to pass out the slips and bucket of pens.

Sam shrugged and laughed. “I think I’m okay. Nothing’s been too overwhelming yet.”

“Well, buckle in then, because we’ll be here for a while,” Michael pointed out. “Did everyone get a paper and pen?” He called out to the crowd.

They either all agreed or were writing things down, passing the slips back through the crowd to the front of the room to put in a basket. “This could take anywhere from two to three hours” Gabe smiled at Sam. “If you wanna leave you can” He reassured, even after fans whined and protested.

Sam shook his head. “I’ll stay for most of it. If it starts getting too much I might sit in the backroom for a bit.”

“That’s okay” Gabe smiled softly. 

“First question” Lucien smiled and pulled it out, staring at it before looking at Sam. “Gabe, will you sit in Sam’s lap?”

“Whoa-“ Gabe laughed. “Just because I will do it and do it in private, does not mean I’m doing that for people's Tumblr pages,” Gabe mumbled around his cinnamon cereal. 

“Unless Sam wants to” Lucien smirked. 

“I frankly don’t care what Sam wants” Gabe snapped, turning to Sam. “No offense” He corrected and set his hand on Sam’s arm. “But it’s not what I’m comfortable with, and no one here is going to make me do that” He shrugged.

Sam shook his head and rested his other hand over Gabe’s. “I’m not gonna make him. I’m still not entirely comfortable in front of people anyway,” he shrugged.

“Hm. Alright, fair enough,” Balthazar shrugged, then moved to take another paper out. “Funny high school stories from all of you. The ‘all’ is underlined.”

“Ah, fuck” Lucien muttered. “I let out biology teacher’s snake out of the tank and scared Michael to the point he cried one day in class” Lucien smirked.

“That wasn’t funny,” Michael grumbled under his breath, glaring at him before sighing. “Uh.. once while I was in the hallway, I meant to open the classroom door and walked straight into the wall that was next to the door. Fun times.”

Gabe laughed and hummed before shrugging. “I don’t know, I was taking a test and I had a really bad and vulgar song as my ring tone and Michael called me to tell me about practice and all of a sudden everyone in the class got to hear about pussy” Gabe shrugged and grinned. “Whoops”

“And I’m the one that told Michael that he should call Gabe that day,” Balthazar laughed, grinning proudly. “No, but really, you all know I have a problem with chairs, I couldn’t tell you just how many I’ve fallen out of.”

“Many” Gabe sighed and smiled at his brother before turning to Sam. “What about you Sam?”

“Eh, there haven’t been a lot of funny moments at my schools,” Sam shrugged. “Last few years of it kinda sucked honestly.. guess there was one time that some kid got stuck in a bucket. I don’t know where it came from or how it even happened.”

“What?” Gabe asked with a laugh before dragging the basket over to him. “Michael and Lucien, do an impression of each other”

“Oh,” Lucien mumbled. and hummed. “I’m Michael and-“ He cut himself off with an ear-piercing scream before screeching. “Is that a snake?!”

“Oh fuck you!” Michael yelled as the crowd laughed. “You get scared of shit too, Lucien!”

Lucien scoffed. “From what?!” He smirked.

“Closed spaces,” Michael pointed out bluntly.

Lucien glared at him and reached for the basket again. “Michael and Lucien, why don’t your names rhyme? Like I fucking know” He mumbled and set that paper aside to take another one. “Who’s the most likely to be a..” Lucien paused to stare at the paper. “Kawaii..? school.. boy?” He whispered softly into the mic before looking at his brothers. “Gabe”

“What?!” Gabe asked.

“What?” Sam echoed in confusion, then laughed. “Is he?”

“No-“ Gabe declared and frowned when their fans protested. “Why?” He whined, setting his head on the table. 

“You’re small” Lucien shrugged. “And cute” He mumbled with a smile.

“Fair,” Sam snorted. “You are cute.”

“No, I’m not” Gabe glared at him with a blush and smiled before leaning over to whisper. “But really..?” He jumped when he realized the fans heard, face heating up more.

Sam snorted and leaned towards him. “But you are. So.. should we read the next thingy?” He asked, gesturing to the basket.

“Yeah-“ Gabe laughed and quickly took the basket back, reading an answer “Gabe what color are your socks?” He paused and leaned down to look at his socks before looking back up. “One’s orange, the other is pink. Sam your turn” He smiled and tossed the discarded paper at Michael.

“Uh..” Sam paused and brought his foot up into his lap, pulling at the edge of his shoe to check. “White and gray, because I’m boring,” he joked as he let his foot down again.

“And they’re matching?” Gabe gagged and pushed the basket toward him. “I don’t think we can be together anymore” He joked.

“Tough luck,” Sam snorted. “You’re stuck with me. I apologize.”

“You should apologize” He mumbled and took a paper to stick in Sam’s hand. “Babe fucking pick it and read it” He laughed.

Sam hesitantly reached in and pulled out a paper. “Uh.. did any of you know me before we met at the concert? They knew about me, I don’t know how much though.”

“We all knew your brother because he’s dating Cas- and your brother would talk about you so we knew of a Sam, but we just never knew this was our Sam” Gabe shrugged and took a paper before laughing softly. “Everyone, how many people have you slept with? See- this is tricky because, I’ve slept like- in a bed with people, but not had sex. So.. how many people have you had sex with” Gabe shrugged. 

“Nine” Lucien leaned into the mic before shrugging.

“Two,” Michael shrugged alongside him. “Only in serious relationships.”

“Uh.. I don’t actually know,” Balthazar stated, staring at the table as he thought to himself.

Sam chewed at his lip before answering, “Three.”

Gabe looked at Sam and looked back at the basket before mumbling. “One” He answered, scratching his head awkwardly.

Michael shifted in his chair, then reached to grab another paper. “So uh.. moving on?”

“I need a minute” Gabe mumbled to Michael before standing up. “Gimme a sec babe, I just gotta use the restroom” Gabe smiled and leaned over Sam to kiss him, leaving for the hall  
Sam smiled a little and nodded, then shrunk a little as he faced the crowd.

“Uh.. here, you take this one,” Michael insisted, pushing the paper at Lucien.

Lucien shrugged and took the paper with a frown to read. “Is anyone else dating anyone? Personally, that’s my business if I want to share. Gabe wanted to, so I did, but I’m not gonna say. Michael and Balthazar might though” He shrugged looking at his brothers.

Both brothers shook their heads. “I’d prefer to keep that information to myself. And even if I was with someone, I probably would wait until it was serious to introduce them,” Michael stated.

“Which is why Gabe waited- what like six months to even be considered boyfriend with you?” Lucien looked over at Sam. “Like six or seven months?”

Sam nodded quietly, drumming his fingers softly on the table. “Almost seven, still technically six.”

“Wait I thought you guys were like, all in official now” Lucien frowned. “Or maybe you’re trying to figure it out- okay I don’t know. Gabe’s happy that’s all I give a fuck about” He laughed.

Sam snorted and nodded again. “We’ve mostly just been trying to spend more time together.”

“Hey, just don’t hurt him” Lucien shrugged before glaring, giving Sam a look.

Sam glanced at him and shook his head. “I don’t want to.”

“Is he almost back?” Balthazar piped up. “It’s been a second.”

“I don’t fucking know” Lucien mumbled. “Go find him” He shrugged, looking at Balthazar.

Balthazar raised his hands in mock defense, then stood up and wandered back toward the bathrooms.

Lucien laughed and picked another paper from the basket. 

Gabe looked up from where he was just sitting in the back hall on his phone. He held a finger up to his mouth and frowned, looking back down at his phone.

Balthazar squinted in confusion and walked closer, head tilted.

Gabe glanced up at him and frowned, putting his phone down. “..Can I help you?” He asked softly, hiding his eyes.

“We were just.. wondering where you were,” Balthazar said, frowning a little. “Are you okay?”

Gabe exhaled slowly and hugged his knees, looking away. “I’m fine, bub” He mumbled, rubbing his face.

“Hm,” he grunted in disbelief, plopping down next to him. “What’s wrong?”

Gabe groaned, turning to place his cheek on his knee. “Go away, bub” He mumbled.

Balthazar stayed sitting where he was, glancing at him before staring at the wall ahead. “Good turn out today. Place is packed.”

Gabe hummed in acknowledgment, staring at the floor next to him.

“Maybe we should order a pizza or something. We could get some for the whole room. Cas did that once,” he continued with a shrug. “It’ll be late before we can eat again, so it’s just a thought.”

Gabe shifted his head to stare ahead of him, sniffling. “..I’m not hungry for pizza” He admitted, wiping his nose on his knees. He turned to look at Balthazar with teary eyes before speaking again. “Can we get blow pops?” He mumbled. “The suckers with gum in them..?” He sniffled.

“Sure, we’ll go get blow pops,” Balthazar nodded, glancing at him. “Are you ready to talk yet?”

Gabe frowned, staring at him before he began to think. He almost instantly began to cry again. Instead of hugging his knees again, he leaned on Balthazar, turning to bury his wet face in Balthazar’s neck.

Balthazar put an arm around him to rub his back, hushing him softly.

Gabe sighed deeply after a few minutes before sitting up, half facing his brother. “I’m just worried” He mumbled. “I wasn’t expecting Sam to be..” He shrugged and gestured with his hands in the air. “I don’t know, I’ve only ever had sex with Kali and he’s younger than me. Not to mention he’s hotter. What was I thinking, getting into this relationship?” He sighed, setting his head back on his knees. “He’s gonna think I’m weird and leave me” He muttered, rubbing his eyes on his knees.

Balthazar frowned and leaned his head back to look at him. “Well, that’s some bull. Sam’s only a few months younger than you, for starters. Second, why would he think you were weird? Because you only did it with one person?”

Gabe shrugged and looked up at his brother again. “I don’t know.. I don’t know.. how to do it. Kali even said I was bad” He mumbled, moving his legs to cross them. “She was right, but.. It still hurt me” He whispered. “I’m just scared that when and if Sam and I do-.. uh.. that he won’t think I’m bad at it or hate me or I don’t know- leave me!” He raised his voice a little, tears starting up again. “I’m a dumbass for thinking this relationship would go smoothly”

Balthazar sighed, continuing to rub his back. “Relationships have their bumps. But we’ve known Sam long enough. I honestly don’t think he’d do that.”

Gabe sniffled again and shrugged. “..Can I sit with you until we change activities?” He asked.

His older brother shrugged. “I don’t care, your choice really.”

“Yeah” Gabe smiled and wiped his eyes before untangling his legs to stand up. “And if that time comes- I’ll just say I don’t feel like it... or tell him I have genital herpes” He mumbled.

“Just tell him you're not ready, he’d understand,” Balthazar shrugged as he stood. “Come on now. Calm down and let’s finish this thing.”

Gabe nodded and followed his brother out to the tables, rubbing his eyes one last time before he sat down. 

“And then Michael had taken a banana- Oh you guys are back!” Lucien smiled. We got through a lot of questions so we just started telling funny stories” He smiled. 

“Nice” Gabe laughed and sat down between Sam and pulled the empty chair closer to him, looking back at Balthazar.

Balthazar looked back at him, nodding softly as he sat down. “What was that about Michael with a banana?” He laughed, glancing at Lucien.

“Nothing, nothing” Lucien snorted and handed a paper to Gabe. 

“What?” He mumbled before reading the question, immediately crumbling it up. “Do you guys wanna switch to pictures now?” He mumbled with a small smile.

“Uh.. sure?” Michael said, tilting his head. “You aren’t gonna read that?”

Gabe blinked at Michael before frowning “Does it look like I’m gonna read it?” He softly snapped before his face softened. “No, I don’t wanna read it” He mumbled and stood up.  
Michael frowned and stood up from his seat, smiling again at the crowd. “Alright everyone, we’ll meet you for pictures!”

Lucien smiled and gestured for Michael to go first so he could pull Gabe aside, holding onto his arm to whisper to him. Gabe shook his head after a while and stared at his shoes as Lucien talked. He frowned as well and raised Gabe’s chin with his finger to talk to him. Gabe snorted after a while and left with Lucien to follow his brothers and Sam backstage. 

“God I’m bored of this” Gabe admitted. 

“It’s not that bad, is it?” Lucien mumbled.

“It’s a little crowded for my taste but.. fun I think,” Sam shrugged. “How much longer do we have?”

“I’d say another two hours” Gabe shrugged and took ahold of Sam’s hand as they walked. “It’s down this way” He smiled and led them down the hall into another room with a blank screen on the wall, fans already lined up and ready. “It’s free for everyone, but you only get one picture” Gabe smiled and led Sam to sit on one of the five stools there. “They normally just pick whoever they want in the photo, and then they leave with their photo” 

“Most of the time it’s only Gabe” Lucien laughed and patted Sam’s shoulder, so have fun while random girls steal your man” He teased and separated their hands before walking away. 

Gabe frowned and waited until Lucien had walked away before grabbing Sam’s hand again.  
Sam squeezed his hand gently. “It’s alright, I’ll wait for you on the side,” he offered. “I’m not much for pictures.”  
“Well, people might want to take pictures with you.. Is that okay?” Gabe asked softly. “You can say no” He insisted.

“Ah.. maybe a couple but.. I don’t know,” Sam shrugged with an apologetic smile.

“Babe you don’t have to” Gabe whispered and frowned at him. “Just say no” He shrugged and leaned over a little.

“Um.. I’m not comfortable with pictures with strangers yet,” Sam said with another shrug.

“That’s all you needed to say, baby” Gabe smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

Sam smiled and took a moment to kiss him back. “I’ll be off to the side.”

“That’s okay, you can stay right here” He mumbled and stood up to smile at a girl behind a tape line “Hey, Meg” He teased. 

“Shut the fuck up and stand against the board” She frowned. 

“Damn” Gabe whispered and moved for the first person to hand Meg her phone and get a picture. 

“Stop kissing” Lucien whispered, standing beside Sam with crossed arms.

“.. Why?” Sam asked in confusion. “It’s not hurting anything, is it?”

“I don’t really like to see my baby brother kissing in front of me. Would you like to see Dean kiss in front of you?” Lucien looked down at Sam.

“He does all the time, he doesn’t care,” Sam shrugged. “Honestly, I just ignore it.”

“I’m not you” He muttered and stared at Sam before Gabe called him and Michael over for a picture. 

Gabe smiled as he bounced back up to Sam, standing in front of him, setting his hands on Sam’s legs. “You and Lucien getting along?” He smiled widely.

“For the most part, I think,” Sam nodded slowly, shifting his weight as he smiled. “How're pictures?”

“They’re nice and quick. Some people just wanted pictures with the twins” He smiled before Balthazar grabbed his arm to pull him in for a group photo. Time passed slowly as Gabe wasn’t able to take a break from all the photos, each one alternating, Gabe being a constant. After almost forty minutes he was finally able to come back to Sam, placing a hand on Sam’s knee. “How’re you holding up?” He mumbled, frowning.

Sam jumped a little, then shook his head with a small smile. "I'm okay, I think. I'll get used to it eventually."

Gabe pouted a little before smiling. “You know you can leave if you want, right?” He asked. “I’ll just go back to my place afterward”

"I know, I didn't want to leave you," Sam said, shuffling his feet. ".. Are you sure it's okay?"

“Yes I’m sure” Gabe mumbled, smiling at him. “I told you it’d be okay. Go home and do something. We’re gonna be here for a while” He insisted.

Sam smiled a little. "You know we took your car here, do you want me driving it?"

“Oh. Yeah, you can drive it to my place and then drive your car back to your place” Gabe smiled, searching in his pockets before giving him the keys. “Here, be safe” He mumbled softly and shrugged.

"I will," Sam assured him, leaning down to kiss him. "I'll see you later," he said as he started his walk outside.

Gabe frowned as he watched him, turning when Lucien tapped his shoulder to take another picture.


	10. Chapter 10

Gabe landed on his couch later that night, yawning before any of his brothers could tell him to get up. Lucien sighed, looking down at Gabe. “Bub come on.. we’re all tired” He whispered, waiting a few minutes. “Alright,” He grumbled, throwing himself on the other side of the couch to lay down. “I see your point”

“Mhm,” Michael mumbled, yawning as he settled down onto the floor next to the couch. “I love our fans, but damn, do those all-day meet and greets make me tired.”

Gabe quickly zoned out as he fell asleep. When he yawned and rolled over to find himself tangled in blankets and in Michael’s lap he jolted up in confusion. 

Lucien laughed as he watched his brother jump up. “Welcome to the land of the living” He smirked. 

Gabe inhaled deeply as he rubbed his eyes before immediately laying back into Michael’s lap.

Michael grumbled a little as he rubbed his eyes. “I need a shower.. take him for me, one of you.”

“Pass,” Balthazar muttered, standing up from the chair to stretch and head into the kitchen. “I’m getting cereal.”

Lucien smirked and watched Michael. “Hm.. I don’t know. What’s it worth to you?” He smirked, tapping a sip of his coffee before setting his book down on the couch.

“What do you want?” Michael asked, squinting as his twin in suspicion.

Lucien hummed and smirked as he set his coffee down. “For you to get up” He mumbled, weaseling his hands under Gabe’s head to barely lift him.

Michael took his chance and quickly scooted over, standing up. “Do you actually want something from me now?”

Lucien shook his head as he carefully moved Gabe around to lay on his thigh, petting his hair before covering his shoulders with the blanket. “No, but I’d appreciate it if you handed me my coffee” He mumbled, picking his book up.

Michael rolled his eyes with a smile, then reached down to hand him his mug before heading down to the bathroom.

Lucien smiled to himself as he read. Eventually, Gabe got his head under Lucien’s shirt, sleeping quietly again. Lucien just patted his head and waited for a couple more hours.

A while later, Cas poked his head in the door, looking around for a moment before entering. “Hello, Lucien. Should I assume he’s still sleeping?” he asked, gesturing to Gabe.

Lucien held a finger up to his mouth and nodded softly. 

Dean walked in a little after, shoving keys into his jacket, smiling at Gabe. “Why does he sleep like that?”

“What?

“Inside of your shirt” Dean mumbled quietly.

“He’s done that since he was little,” Cas shrugged. “He’s secure, I think. Where're the others?”

Lucien shrugged. “Michael said he was gonna shower hours ago and Balthazar was getting breakfast, but like I said, it’s been hours” He frowned.

“Hm.. well, they’re probably in their rooms, or kitchen still,” Cas sighed, then shook his head. “Anyway, how did the meet and greet go last night?”

Lucien paused and shook his head. “I think it went well expect Gabe was very distracted by Sam and later Balthazar told me..” He paused and looked down at Gabe to check. “He told me Gabe was insecure and went to the hall to cry and Gabe told him about how he was scared of this relationship and anxious about some of the topics and I don’t know. I don’t know if Sam tried to have sex with him or something, but someone anonymously asked how many people we’ve slept with and you know Gabe only did it with Kali and I guess he was scared Sam was going to want more out of him because Sam's done it with more people?” He ranted before sighing heavily. He looked at Dean and frowned. “You let Sam hurt my fucking brother, I won’t forgive you”

“Hey- I didn’t do anything..” Dean whispered, gently taking ahold of Cas’ hand.

Cas frowned. “Enough. We know Sam well enough, he never pushes things like that.” He sighed softly, glancing down at Gabe. “He really should talk to Sam about it if he’s unsure. I understand, it’s easier said than done, but still. He might relax a little after.”

“You know he won’t do that” Lucien muttered. 

Dean frowned and let go of Cas’ hand to place it on his shoulder. “If I could interject..” He mumbled softly. “If I’m right Sam has only had sex with three people.. which. Are currently.. passed” He mumbled before continuing. “It took Sam a whole year to even have sex with Jessica because he didn’t want that kind of.. closer bond if she passed. Which. She did, so he’s more than likely sworn off sex for.. forever” He sighed.

Cas nodded solemnly by Dean’s side. “He’s very hesitant to get that close anymore. I doubt he’s said much about it.”

Lucien nodded and sighed softly. “But we can’t tell Gabe that, so then what?” He complained, flinching when Gabe’s phone started ringing. He sighed and reached down under the blankets for himself as Gabe was practically knocked out. “Why are they always talking?” He groaned, handing the phone to Dean. “Your brother”

Dean frowned and turned the phone to face him before picking up, holding it up to his ear. “Hi, Sam” He grumbled.

“.. Dean? Why do you have Gabe’s phone?” Sam asked in confusion.

“Well, he’s kind of passed out like.. knocked out” Dean mumbled, reaching over the couch to feel Gabe’s pulse around his neck. “He’s alive, but his pulse is so slow it’s like he’s hibernating” He mumbled.

There was a pause. “Is he sleeping?” He asked after a moment, clearing his throat. “I should probably just call back later.”

“I mean if you want, but yeah he’s sleeping, Sam” Dean mumbled. 

Gabe twisted around so his hair was in Lucien’s shirt before looking up at Dean. He smiled softly as he raised his hand, pouting. “Sam” He called out in his sleepy daze.

“Alright, uh, I’ll just-“

“He’s awake, sort of,” Cas stated.

“Samshine!” Gabe whined, sitting up to reach for the phone. 

“Okay- uh, Sam, here-“

Gabe quickly took the phone and laid back down to hide under the blankets to talk in private. “Hi Sam”

Lucien looked at them before shrugging, letting Gabe lay in his lap as he read.

“Uh- Hey!” Sam laughed softly. “Sorry, I would’ve waited a bit if I knew you were sleeping.”  
“That’s okay.. it’s like twelve. I was just tired from last night” He murmured against Lucien’s thigh. “Did you need something, Samkims?” He asked with a yawn.

“No, just checking up on you,” Sam said. “And sorry for leaving early yesterday.”

“What? Don’t apologize, I practically forced you out the door. I told you, you could leave” He mumbled. 

Dean glanced at Cas in confusion.

“I know, but still.”

“What happened last night?” Cas asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gabe looked up at him and shrugged. “Sam wanted to leave because he’d been sitting there for an hour and I told him he could leave” He mumbled. before paying attention to Sam again. “Don’t beat yourself up over it”

“That’s not all that happened, Gabe” Lucien from down at him. 

“Shut up Lucien” Gabe muttered.

“Alright, well, I just wanted to check up on you,” Sam said. “I’ll see you later?”

“What happened?” Cas asked again.

“Nothing happened” Gabe muttered, setting the phone down so he could sit up. 

“Really? Nothing happened when you were crying in the hallway?” Lucien glared. 

“N-..” Gabe paused and frowned at his brother. “..No?” He asked softly. 

Dean frowned gestured to the phone call that was still going on before sighing.

Sam was silent for a moment as he listened. “What?”

Gabe glanced at his phone in horror before moving to hug his knees. He frowned, holding the phone up to his ear. “I’ll talk to you later, Sam” He whispered.

“I- okay but, is everything okay?” Sam asked in concern.

Gabe stared blankly in front of him before taking the phone away from his ear and made sure to hang up this time before dropping his phone on the couch. He pouted afterward, hugging Lucien’s torso tightly as he tried to hide his face. 

“Gabe-“ Lucien protested, trying to push him off. 

“You made it happen, Lucien” Dean shook his head.

“Why did you even mention it?” Cas asked, brow furrowing. “Whatever it is that’s happening.”

Lucien huffed and continued to try and pry Gabe off of him. “I told you, Balthazar told me about it and it’s not okay. If Gabe isn’t going to talk about it and let Sam keep doing whatever it is- their relationship isn’t gonna last and I’m not gonna fucking stand for someone hurting Gabe again, especially over a giant fucking misunderstanding” Lucien snapped and sighed heavily after he got done yelling. “Come on Gabe, let's get you in the shower” He mumbled and stood up to carry him from the room. 

Dean stared in disbelief before slowly looking at Cas.

Cas wrinkled his nose and looked back at Dean. “Maybe we should visit your brother,” he suggested dryly. “We’re getting to the bottom of this.”

Dean sighed and turned to the front door. “Alright” He mumbled, silent walking out with Cas’ hand in his own as he walked. “I just- I don’t get it!” He blurted as he made it to his car, climbing in “Why? Just why? Why can’t they just talk to each other or even text” Dean muttered.

“To be fair, before we got together it was mostly just tension,” Cas pointed out with a sigh. “I don’t know. But we’ve only got so many people to ask.”

“I know” Dean whispered and started his car before driving. He carefully reached over for Cas’ hand to squeeze. “But neither of us have horrible past relationships- and you’re not a lead singer in one of the most popular bands in America” Dean pointed out.

“Fair enough,” Cas huffed. “Let’s just get there.”

“I’m going” Dean muttered to him and drove for the silent twenty minutes before pulling up in front of Sam’s apartment. “Alright,” He sighed and opened the door to walk up the stairs, waiting for Cas before knocking on the door.

Sam answered a few moments later, glancing between them. “Hi? I thought you were just at Gabe’s.”

“We were” Dean mumbled and walked past him to stand inside. “We wanna know what’s going on. Because apparently, you made Gabe cry- and then he was crying when we left?” Dean sighed and glanced at Cas. “I don’t get it”

“Has anything happened between you two?” Cas asked bluntly. “Lucien seems to think so, not that I’m taking his word for it.”

“Huh? No, nothing’s happened,” Sam shook his head, frowning. “Other than a few minutes ago, I didn’t even know anything was wrong.”

Dean shrugged. “Balthazar did keep it a secret” Dean mumbled softly. “Is it our place to tell him?” He frowned.

“Tell me what?” Sam asked, clearly confused.

“I don’t know, obviously Gabe isn’t planning on telling him,” Cas grumbled.

Dean shrugged. “It’s not my place to talk about their sex lives” He mumbled.

“Sex lives? What sex lives?” Sam asked. “I haven’t been with anyone like that since last time. You know this.”

“Dude just.. chill out” Dean sighed and rubbed his nose. “We know, Sam. But Gabe thinks you’re gonna want more and apparently he hasn’t done it with one person- he’s only done it once. At all” He shrugged and frowned. “And Gabe I guess said he’s scared to have sex or something now?” Dean shrugged, looking at Cas.

Cas nodded. “I figured he was insecure about it, but he never really mentioned it outright. Lucien has it in his head that you might’ve done something to make him upset.”

“But I.. I don’t think I have. We haven’t done anything,” Sam said, fiddling with his hands.  
Dean raised an eyebrow and squinted at Sam. “Samuel..” Dean said sternly. “What did you do?” He asked coldly.

“Nothing! What do you think I did?” Sam asked, frown deepening.

“Really? You’ve never gone further than light pecks on the lips? Or had Gabe have to tell you he wasn’t ready for sex?” Dean asked, somewhat doubtful, but having some faith in his brother.

“I mean sure, we’ve kissed a lot, but we’ve never even talked about sex,” Sam told them, looking at both of them as he talked.

“..You’re lying” Dean mumbled casually. “Gabe talked to Michael about how you said you didn’t know how far you could go one day while watching a movie and Michael told me so I could talk to you, but I never did” Dean blinked and frowned at Sam. “Wanna talk about that?” He huffed.

Sam frowned. “What’s there to talk about?” He muttered.

Dean blinked in confusion before lowering his head to squint at Sam. “Do you not understand this? Do you not like- get that you saying that makes him think you want sex” Dean shrugged. “Like- I’m not trying to be a dick to you, but if I asked Cas what he was comfortable with and what my limits would be- he’d expect me to be thinking of sex like..” Dean sighed and shrugged.

Sam shook his head. “I don’t know.. I didn’t think he’d take it like that.”

“He did, apparently,” Cas stated, then sighed. “You two really need to talk. It’ll just make things worse if you don’t.”

“Come back with us” Dean insisted. “Gabe should be done with his shower by the time we get back” Dean smiled, patting Sam’s shoulder. “Have a heart to heart”

Sam nodded and sighed softly. “Let’s go.”

“You might wanna take your car because we’ll be leaving shortly after” Dean mumbled and led them outside to the cars, starting his. “Come on Cas!”

\- - - - -

Gabe sighed softly as he sat on the couch, eating from his bowl of grapes. 

“You know you can tell him ‘no’ right?” Lucien mumbled. 

“I know” Gabe nodded, his wet hair soaking Lucien’s hood that he’d stolen. He looked up when the door opened, staring in confusion. He shifted to sit up all the way and turn. “Sam? What are you doing here?”

“Um.. they told me what was going on,” Sam started, pausing before walking in further. “We should probably talk.”

“Oh,” Gabe mumbled before turning back to face the TV. “I don’t know” He shrugged. “..I don’t want to” he mumbled. 

“Gabriel” Lucien frowned at him. 

“Lucien” Gabe mumbled.

“Gabriel,” Cas sighed, gesturing to Sam.

“Gabe,” Sam said softly. “Please?”

Gabe groaned and laid down with his bowl close to him. “..I don’t wanna” He whispered. 

Lucien sighed and moved the grapes to pick Gabe up over his shoulder. “You don’t get a choice now” He muttered, walking to the kitchen to sit Gabe on a spinning stool. “Stay” He demanded before coming to gesture for Sam to go in. 

“Violent” Dean mumbled with a laugh. 

“Nah” Lucien shrugged.

Sam hesitantly walked in, shifting his weight every few minutes. “Do you think I’d try and force you into things?” he asked softly.

“Jesus Christ” Gabe whispered, setting his head on the table before sighing and lifting it. 

“Come here- just, come and sit” He mumbled.

Sam nodded, walking over to where Gabe was and taking a seat.

Gabe carefully took Sam’s hands and smiled at him. “I love you. And it’s a miracle I can say that because of you.. but you can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to. If I told you no, you’d listen to me. I know this for a fact. I just forget because I’m used to the mindset of ‘It doesn’t matter what I think because you aren’t forcing me to do anything’- and it’s just hard for me to comprehend that you’re different” He mumbled. “You’re better. I don’t need to fight it” He smiled.

Sam smiled a bit back at him. “Alright.. I don’t want to push anything on you. I know you know that, but still. Consent is important.”

“I..” Gabe sighed and smiled. “I know Sam. Because I didn’t consent with Kali. I just let it happen..” He shrugged. “And now I don’t let people do whatever they want to me” He smiled, slowly taking his hands back from Sam’s.

“Good,” Sam nodded, resting his arms on the table. “I’m glad.”

“I’m glad you’re accepting of it” He laughed softly and shrugged awkwardly. “So.. we’re done?” He asked softly. “Cuz I kinda want my grapes”

Sam snorted and nodded. “Yeah, go eat your grapes.”

“Come with me” Gabe whined, standing up to pull on his hands.

Sam laughed softly and stood with him. “To the fridge?”

“You’re kinda dumb” Gabe confessed, smiling up at him. “You’re lucky you’re cute” He mumbled, tugging on Sam’s hand to pull him into the living room.

Sam snorted again, following behind him. “Thanks?”

“I’m just saying” Gabe mumbled and continued to walk until he got to the couch, taking his grapes back from the table. “Come here” Gabe complained, raising his hand to pull on Sam’s shirt.

“Do you want to sit out here?” Sam asked, leaning over a little as Gabe pulled on his shirt.

“Sam..” Gabe frowned and sighed softly. “I don’t wanna call you stupid.. but It’s really hard not to” he mumbled.

Sam smiled sheepishly, then leaned down to kiss him. “I know.”

Gabe frowned and turned to ruin the kiss, glaring at him. “Sit down with me” He whispered.

Sam sat back against the couch, leaning into the corner next to the arm of it. “Ya love my dumbass-ness?”

“Some times you’re slow” Gabe admitted, smiling widely up at Sam anyway. “But I still like you” He mumbled, leaning into Sam’s chest.

“Well good, ‘cause I like you too,” Sam snorted, tilting his head a bit toward him as they sat.

Gabe smiled as he continued to eat his grapes, moving one up to Sam’s mouth, poking his lips with it.

Sam opened his mouth to eat it, laughing softly before looking around. “Where’d everybody go?”

Gabe paused to look around, shrugging. “I think Dean and Cas left? I don’t know where Lucien went” He mumbled and continued eating his grapes.

“Hm,” Sam hummed, resting his head against the back cushion of the couch. “Ah well, our living room now.”

“Hell yeah!” Gabe grinned and looked up at Sam to kiss his jaw before looking back down to eat his grapes “So we’re good now?” He asked softly.

Sam nodded and looked down at him with a small smile. “Of course we are.”

“Cool” Gabe mumbled, picking small seeds out of his mouth to drop back in the bowl. “I love you” He mumbled.

“I love you too,” Sam said softly back. “Can’t wait to spend tour with you.”

Gabe smiled and moved his grapes to the table so he could face Sam, cuddling up against his chest. “I can’t either. I’m really excited” He laughed.

Sam laid his arm over Gabe’s back and grinned. “I’ve only really seen videos of the tour bus, do you think I’ll fit?” He joked.

Gabe winced a little and frowned. “You actually might not” He whispered softly, looking up at Sam. “Michael just barely fits” He hummed.

“Hm.. Eh, we’ll figure it out. It’ll be fine,” Sam shrugged.

He frowned at Sam and shrugged softly. “Maybe.. I don’t know” He paused and smiled at him. “We could get a bigger bed maybe” He mumbled. “And then if you decide not to come next time, Michael can use it. But I don’t think we have enough time now”

“It’s alright,” Sam assured him, nudging his arm gently. “I can curl up well enough.”

Gabe frowned at that and shook his head. “How about if I set up a bed on the floor for you, I’ll sleep with you?” Gabe smiled widely.

“Sounds good,” Sam snorted, shrugging. “We’ll load up the floor with blankets.”

“My brothers might join you” He joked, taking out his phone to open the band’s official twitter. He scrolled a bit before showing Sam a picture of Lucien sleeping on the floor. “This was our first tour. Lucien wasn’t enjoying it” He smiled.

Sam laughed, tilting his head to see better. “You guys ever trip over each other?”

“All the time. I’m usually the one to fall out of bed” He mumbled, scrolling through pictures before finding one of him sleeping on the floor, swiping through all the times he’d been on the floor. “I told you” He laughed, stopping in a picture of him and a man with a beard. “I like to sleep on the floor” He shrugged.

“Floors are comfortable. Sometimes,” Sam shrugged, glancing curiously at the picture. “Who’s that?”

“Hm?” Gabe hummed before looking down at the photo, instantly frowning. He exited the picture and went to the post, immediately deleting it.

Sam frowned and gave an understanding nod. “So.. big comforters on the floor?”

Gabe smiled and looked up at him. “Like- all the time” He laughed and began filtering out some of the pictures and posts, deleting them all. “So, I actually have a bad habit of trying to crawl under the beds and sleep” He laughed.

“Should I try and block you?” Sam laughed. “You haven’t crawled over me in your sleep, it might work.”

“You can try” Gabe laughed. “I just really like to sleep under stuff” He mumbled, moving his legs to stretch over Sam’s lap.

Sam nodded. “Sometimes I do. But I’m also too big to fit under a lot more than a blanket.”

“I’ll find some giant blankets. Extra-long ones” He smiled widely. “In fact- let's go to the store! Right now- Come on” He jumped up excitedly. “Lemme some pants on first actually” He mumbled softly. “Then we can go and get a blanket” He grinned, pressing a kiss to Sam’s forehead before running up the stairs.

“Uh- Sure?” Sam laughed, standing from the couch to take the grapes back to the kitchen before heading back out to the living to wait for Gabe.

Gabe came back a few minutes later in his black skinny jeans with holes in the knees and Lucien’s same shirt. “Ready?” He smiled, raising his knee to pick at a scab before walking to the door for his shoes.

“Ready,” Sam confirmed, following behind him to pull his shoes back on. “My car or yours?”  
Gabe hummed and shrugged. “You pick?” He asked carefully. “I really don’t care, babe” He smiled.

Sam smiled and pulled his keys from his pocket, offering his hand to Gabe as they started walking out.

Gabe smiled widely as he gladly took Sam’s hand to lead him outside. “Who’s driving?” He asked. “I’m joking, I’m shit at driving” He laughed and let go of Sam’s hand to move to the passenger side.

“You’re really not that bad,” Sam shrugged, getting into the driver’s seat and starting the car up.

Gabe laughed and buckled in. “I’ve been told otherwise” He snorted, shuffling his feet out of his shoes to cross his legs in the seat.

Sam shrugged again, smiling as he started out on the road. “You do fine.”

“Says you” He mumbled softly.

“Exactly. No, but really. It’s not that bad,” Sam insisted.

“Oh yes, I believe it is” Gabe laughed loudly and leaned back on the chair. “First time I drove- I hit a mailbox in my student driving course. I cried and had a panic attack and paid for the person’s property damage and then I cried for like three days straight because I feel horrible for.. running over a bunch of plastic” He sighed.

Sam winced a little in sympathy. “It was only your first time, nobody’s perfect.”

“Yeah, but I still failed” He laughed. “And my second time.. and third. And my fourth time, I just barely passed” He laughed.

Sam snorted and shrugged. “But you passed, so obviously you got better.”

“Still..” Gabe laughed softly, looking over at Sam. “You passed on your first time I bet” He glared.

“Ah- not exactly,” Sam laughed, shaking his head. “Having my dad as a teacher wasn’t the greatest. He tended to not care about road rules.”

“Oh,” Gabe mumbled and tapped his fingers on his legs. “Tell me more about your family?” He asked softly, frowning as though he was worried he asked the wrong thing.

Sam grunted and shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell. I never knew my mom. She didn’t leave us, but we had a house fire when I was a baby. Dad wasn’t the same after that so, Dean practically raised me. Probably why we’re so close.”

Gabe frowned and glanced out the window before shrinking in on his shoulders. “I shouldn’t have asked” He whispered. “I’m sorry” He smiled apologetically at the ground.

“No, it’s alright,” Sam assured him, moving his hand for a moment to nudge one of Gabe’s. “Not all of it’s hard to talk about.”

Gabe lifted his hand a little before setting it away from Sam’s. “Alright. It still sucks” He mumbled softly.

“Yeah.. I kinda turned out alright, though. Sorta,” Sam shrugged, returning his hand to the wheel with a sigh.

“I think you turned out alright” Gabe beamed from his seat. “At least to me you do” He shrugged and hesitantly reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind Sam’s ear, holding his hand still for a few seconds before pulling it back.

Sam smiled a little, head tilting just slightly toward his hand. “Thanks. I think we’re both doing well for ourselves, don’t you think?”

“Not really. Only you” He laughed. “Except for the fact, you know- I’m famous country-wide.. but mentally and personally it’s all just a mess” He shrugged and smiled widely. “But I’m getting better.. I think because of you” He smiled.

“I’m glad I could help,” Sam smiled softly. “I know you’ve helped me too.”

Gabe scoffed and laughed a little. “As if” Gabe joked, smiling at him “The only thing I’ve helped is raising people’s stress levels” He mumbled.

“No,” Sam snorted. “Just trust me. You have.”

“I can’t see how, but I’ll believe you” He mumbled, smiling to himself.

“Just trust me,” Sam smiled a little, driving for a little longer before parking in front of a store.

“I am!” Gabe laughed, unbuckling carefully.

Sam snorted and nodded as he got out. “Let’s go find a blanket.”

“Yeah” Gabe grinned, climbing out, only to run around the car to open Sam’s door to take his hand. “We’re gonna find a giant one for you”

“We’re gonna have to if it’s gotta for me,” Sam joked with a laugh.

“I know, Sammy” He smiled and practically pulled him out of the car. “Now come on!”

Sam grinned as he followed him into the store, heading straight to where they kept the blankets. “Hm.. probably a comforter or something. They’re bigger.”

“Like a quilt?” He asked with a large smile. “We could get you a giant one and then another to lay underneath us” He suggested.

Sam nodded, reaching up to feel one of the softer ones. “Exactly. Probably just one from here, I’ve still got one we can lay on at home.”

“But do you really wanna bring it on tour with us?” He mumbled with a frown. “I’m afraid it might get ruined” He reached his other hand up to place on Sam’s forearm.

“It’s not a big deal, I can always get a new one,” Sam pointed out, turning his head to smile at him.

“Then we can get one here. I don’t want you bringing the one from home on tour so it can be walked on and rip or something” He frowned.

“If you say so. It really isn’t a big deal though,” Sam shrugged, patting another blanket. “How about this one?”

Gabe felt it and immediately shook his head, taking him down a few feet to softer blankets. “Wanna lay on this one?” He smiled widely, petting the blanket.

Sam smiled and nodded as he felt it between his fingers. “This one’s good.”

“You want this one? Or two of them, one above and the underneath?” He asked, reaching up to try and take it off the shelf.

“Two if you don’t want me bringing mine,” Sam said, nudging the blanket more to the edge of the shelf so Gabe could reach it.

Gabe smiled widely as he took the one, immediately dropping it on the floor before laughing. “It was heavy!” He complained, going to pick it up. “It was heavier than I expected”

Sam laughed and took a second one, holding it under his arm. “Do you need help?”

“No- I’m not that week Sam” He glared before walking away down the aisle. “Are we ready now or is there anything else you need?” He asked.

“Nope, I think this is it,” Sam said, shaking his head. “Do you need anything else?”

Gabe shrugged and shook his head. “Nah, let’s get going” He smiled and offered his hand as he waited for Sam.

Sam took his hand with his free one. “Let’s get going. I’ll pay.”

Gabe laughed loudly and sighed softly. “No” He mumbled and began swinging their hands back and forth. “I’ve got it” He smiled.

“No, you pay all the time,” Sam scoffed. “My turn.”

“So? I have like- no other way of being nice to you” He pouted. “What am I supposed to do, give you actual affection?” He teased. 

“Gabey!” A rather short female beamed beside them, putting a hand on his shoulder. “How’ve you been?” Gabe tensed under her hand, staring at her with a wide-eyed and dumbfounded look. “Well don’t hang your mouth open to catch flies- talk to me” She smirked, catching Gabe’s chin on her finger. 

“Uh.. Well” He mumbled softly, slowly moving his head out of her finger’s grasp. 

She laughed and took ahold of his cheeks with her hand, forcing him to look at her. “You’re so cute when you’re like this” She laughed.

Sam frowned a little and tugged Gabe’s hand gently to try and lead him away, noticing how uncomfortable he was. “Um.. hello?”

The woman looked up and stared at Sam with a cold expression before turning back to Gabe. “Who’s your friend?” She asked with a sly smile. 

“..Sam” He mumbled softly, squeezing Sam’s hand like a vice.

“Hi, Sam. It’s nice to finally feet you in person.. Kali” She said after a few beats, offering her hand out to shake his. Gabe tilted his hand down so his hair would cover his face, focusing more on steadying his breathing.

Sam glanced down at her hand, but didn’t take it. “Uh-huh. I’ve heard about you,” he said flatly. “Please don’t touch him like that.”

Kali’s face shifted as she smacked her hand onto her hip. “Excuse me?” She asked, glaring at him. 

Gabe took in a shaky breath, staring at the ground with watery eyes. 

“Oh you’re fine” Kali muttered and stared at Gabe. “You really hate me that much now?” She frowned. “You’re that upset that I’m happy without, huh?” She scoffed. “Just wait until my fiancé hears about this”

“God I regret you” Gabe mumbled bluntly before sighing out shakily. “He’s not your fiancé. He left you as soon as he found out you were preg-“

“God, you’re still so obnoxious!” Kali snapped, raising her hands in anger. “I can’t believe you’re still that caught up on me either!” Kali screeched, raising her hand to smack Gabe.

Almost immediately, Sam took a tight hold of Kali’s wrist, glaring. “Don’t,” he warned with an icy tone, holding his other arm protectively in front of Gabe.

Gabe jumped within instinct before staring at Sam’s grip on Kali. He hugged the blanket a little tighter as they stood in complete silence before bending down slowly to pick up the one Sam had thrown on the ground. 

Kali stared at Sam in shock, grinding her teeth together. “You can’t even fend for yourself anymore” She whispered before jerking her hand away from Sam’s grasp to turn on her heel and march away. 

Gabe watched with wide eyes before he gently reached out to touch Sam’s arm in front of him.

Sam continued staring after her for a moment before looking over at him, sighing softly through his nose. “Sorry.. are you okay?” he whispered.

Gabe remained relatively quiet except for a small surprised noise when Sam suddenly turned to him. He stayed staring at the ground as he slowly turned to the checkout, waiting for the computer to load his items. He chewed on the corner of the card, silently wishing the computer would load faster.

Sam followed silently, reaching to take one of the blankets after Gabe had scanned them. “Do you want to go home?”

Gabe sighed through his nose and pressed his card into the machine. He glanced at Sam’s torso before leaning over to press his forehead into Sam’s chest. Sam slowly moved his free hand to rub Gabe’s back, staying quiet as they stood there.

Gabe refused to flinch, trying to stay still when Sam touched him, barely able to succeed. He inhaled deeply the scent of Sam’s shirt so he could forget the smell of disgusting Victoria’s Secret perfume. After a couple of seconds, he finally leaned away and took Sam’s hand to hold tightly. He gently pulled and gestured to the door, finally meeting Sam’s eyes. Sam nodded in understanding and gave him a gentle smile, quickly taking the second blanket before going back out to the car with him.

Gabe smiled after their walk to the car, taking the blankets from Sam to put in the back seat. He closed the back door and stared at the glass for a long second before turning to Sam, hugging his waist tightly as he pressed his face into Sam’s chest. Sam hummed softly as he hugged him back, resting his chin against the top of Gabe’s head.

Gabe sighed heavily as he dropped his arms. “..I’m so sorry” He whispered softly, turning his head a little. “..I didn’t know”

“Not your fault,” Sam murmured as he stood a little straighter.

Gabe nodded and smiled widely before pulling away. “Thanks, Sam.. I’ve never really.. been defended like that before” He mumbled, looking down at Sam’s shoes.

“Well, I wasn’t about to let her hit you. She’s not gonna get away with that,” Sam insisted with a small sigh.

Gabe smiled widely at him, turning to walk around the car to climb into the passenger seat. “I think you’re gonna be the one” He smirked mischievously.

Sam smiled and got back into the driver’s side. “I think you are too.”

Gabe grinned and hesitantly reached over to set his fingers on Sam’s. “Good, I’ll see you at the wedding” He snorted. “I’m kidding, there’s no wedding”

Sam snorted and started onto the road. “So whose house?”

Gabe frowned, taking his hand back to press into his lap. “I uh.. I don’t care” He whispered with a soft smile.

Sam nodded and stayed quiet for a moment. “You could like.. move in if you wanted.”

Gabe tensed, heart surging with a rush as he stared ahead of them. He stayed quiet, bringing one knee up to his chest as he thought. “I uh.. would like to give it some time” He frowned. “Ever since I moved out of Asmodeus’..” He sighed softly. “I’ve never really wanted to go outside of my comfort zone” He hesitantly explained.

Sam nodded. “It’s okay, I get it. If it helps you could just spend the night more often first. Only if you want, though,” he said, glancing at him with a small smile.

Gabe nodded and smiled. “Let’s go to my place and get clothes and then we can spend the night at your place”

“Sounds good,” Sam grinned, looking around the road before turning.

“Good” He whispered and grinned, tangling his fingers together in his lap before leaning against the window to sleep.

Sam smiled at him as he continued driving, making sure to keep as quiet as possible to let him sleep. Once they had arrived, though, he turned off the car and nudged his shoulder gently.

Gabe slowly opened his eyes before sitting up to rub his face. “I’m just gonna go in real quick. I’ll be back in a few minutes” He smiled and got out, walking inside. He came back out probably twenty minutes later, Lucien following Gabe quickly.

Lucien walked around to Sam’s side, knocking on the glass with a frown on his face. 

Gabe sighed as he set his clothes in the backseat and looked at Sam. “He wants to talk with you” He mumbled with a small smile.

Sam tilted his head and gestured for Lucien to back up before he pushed the door open. “What?”

Lucien smiled at him before pulling Sam into a tight hug, patting his back roughly. “Thank you, Sam” He whispered.

Sam jumped a little and hesitantly hugged him back. “Um.. it’s not a problem. She pissed me off, threatening him like that.”

Lucien laughed a little before sighing. “Good” He muttered and pulled away, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry you had to put up with that, but I’m really happy that you were there” He tilted his head and smiled at him. “I know I’ve been a dick in the past, but.. thank you Sam” He mumbled again.

Sam smiled and nodded, sitting back down in the driver’s seat but leaving the door open. “No problem. I get it.”

Gabe smiled as he leaned over to hold onto Sam’s arm. “Thank you for stealing my boyfriend, but can I have him back now?” He laughed. 

Lucien laughed as well and smiled down at Gabe. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll talk to you guys later” He grinned, waving as he walked away to go back inside.

Sam snorted and waved, shutting the door and leaning a little toward Gabe. “Think that went well. Ready?”

Gabe smiled widely at Lucien, raising a hand to brush Sam’s bangs back behind his ear. “..He likes you, ya know?” Gabe grinned happily.

“Kinda hard to tell sometimes, but I don’t blame him for being protective,” Sam nodded, smiling softly.

Gabe smiled and leaned forward to quickly kiss him before leaning back into his seat. “I think this is what made him like you. Michael was really worried and checking me over while Lucien Balthazar asked what had happened” He explained. “I wasn’t able to leave until Michael was done looking me over and making sure I was okay though. So, sorry for taking so long” He smiled apologetically before buckling in.

“It’s alright,” Sam said, putting the car into drive. “They’re just worried about you. And having met her, I don’t blame them at all.”

Gabe stared at Sam with a giant smile before he turned back to face the road. “I’m really sorry you had to put up with that.. not to mention put up with me afterward” He frowned, hunching forward to stare at his shoes.

“Hey, I’m serious, it’s okay,” Sam insisted. “You would’ve done the same if the roles were reversed.”

Gabe shrugged and smiled. “I wouldn’t have been as quick... or as nice if your ex had hit you. You’d probably have to be bailing me out of jail right now” He whispered before laughing softly. “As bad as that sounds, I wouldn’t have let that kind of shit slide” He sighed.

“And I wasn’t about to let it slide with her,” Sam nodded. “I’ve learned how to defend myself, and others too. Guess it worked out today.”

Gabe laughed softly. “I appreciate it..” He mumbled before being quiet as they drove. “..Ya know. I uh..” Gabe whispered, pressing his fingers to his mouth. “..Brought a few extra things from my room.. to move in” he swallowed nervously.

Sam glanced at him for a moment before looking at the road again. “Like what?”

Gabe shrugged and smiled at him. “Mostly just clothes. But I also brought two extra pairs of shoes. And my favorite coffee cup” He smiled.

Sam laughed. “You can never go wrong with extra mugs,” he stated, grinning. “I can give you a place to keep your things if you want.”

Gabe smiled softly and shrugged. “I’ll slowly but surely move in. Probably after tour so I don’t freak out my brothers” He laughed.

“Fair enough,” Sam shrugged. “I’ll help you whenever you decide to.”

“After tour though” He laughed as they silently drove. “Maybe we could tour the states. I’m working on getting key chains from all the states I’ve gone to, along with my name” He grinned.

Sam laughed. “How many do you have now?”

“Washington, Colorado, Florida, New York, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Pennsylvania.. New Mexico and Nevada. Um.. Indiana, Ohio, and I wasn’t able to get one in Michigan, but I’m planning on it this time” He smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

“Hey,” Gabe grinned as he climbed back onto the tour bus. 

“Did you get it?” Lucien asked, leaning up on the bed. 

Gabe grinned as he showed off his Idaho keychain, the state in one hand, name in the other. Lucien laughed and looked over at Sam. “Only a few more now”

“More like thirty more left” Gabe frowned and moved over to Sam on the bed, sitting next to him. “Sorry you had to wait. I just needed this one” He laughed softly.

“Eh, I’ve just been trying to find good places to eat while we travel,” Sam laughed with a shrug, leaning over to show him his phone. “What do you think, I think I wanna try this Italian place.”

Gabe smiled as he hummed. “I mean, it’s on the way” He nodded and grinned. “I say go for it. Guys?”

“Go for it” Lucien shrugged and smiled widely at Sam. “He’s been doing finding nice places to eat for the past three months of tour. I trust his mind”

“Nothing's gotten us sick yet” Gabe laughed as he checked his phone, seeing a message from Kali.

“I promise to try and find places that won’t poison us,” Sam joked, frowning at Gabe’s expression. “You okay?”

Gabe looked up at Sam before shrugging. “Kali..” He mumbled nervously. “She wants to apologize again but I never reply to her” He mumbled, getting rid of the notification. “..God she makes me so nervous” He complained.

Sam pressed his lips together in a grimace. “Wanna ditch the phones for a while? We could play a game until we eat again.”

Gabe grinned and placed his phone on the counter next to his bed as they began taking off. “Wanna join me?” He asked. 

“I’ll join” Lucien shifted to toss his phone on the bed, letting Gabe put it away with him. “Come on Michael, put your phone in the box too” He teased.

Michael huffed and dropped his phone on his bed. “Fine. What are we playing?”

“Should it involve alcohol?” Balthazar joked.

Gabe grinned and took his phone. “I don’t know. Sam and I are still only nineteen” Gabe laughed softly. “Not legal yet” He shrugged. “Even though you’ve let me drink before. As long as Sam’s okay with it, then we can” He smiled looking at Sam. 

“And the best part is, next show is in three days so we can get totally wasted” Lucien smirked.

Sam shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me,” he snorted. “Let’s go for it.”

“What game?” Gabe asked with a smile. “Truth or drink- spin the shot.. ?” Gabe asked as Lucien was already opening the cabinet with their drinks in it.

“Don’t know what spin the shot is, I’d probably go with truth or drink,” Sam shrugged, settling down on the floor to wait for the others.

Gabe smiled and sat down next, ready to take the bottle from Lucien. Lucien immediately handed it over to him and put a shot glass on the table. “Get two” Gabe smiled and Lucien nodded. Gabe handed that one to Sam. “Figured you wouldn’t want to drink after all my brothers” He smiled at Sam.

Sam snorted. “Thanks, I’d rather not.”

“Psh, whatever, hurry your ass up Lucien,” Balthazar scoffed as he plopped down with Michael.

“Hey. Blame me” Gabe glared and moved to sit on his legs so he was the same height as his brothers. “I don’t want Sam getting sick off your weird mouth diseases” He mumbled. 

“Okay shut up!” Lucien declared and cleared his throat. “Gabe”

“Fuck” Gabe whispered. 

“Did you or did you not forget the words to Painting Flowers?”

“Last show?” Gabe asked. 

“At any point”

“In the week that I was writing it yes. But I can sing the whole thing back to Alfie” Gabe grinned. 

“Damn, okay your turn”

“Samuel” Gabe grinned and looked at Sam. “On the day we left for tour.. and I was looking for my yellow bag, did you hide it because you didn’t like the meme shirts that were in it?” He glared.

Sam stared at him for a couple of seconds, then shook his head. “Not.. all of them. Just one.”  
Gabe glared at him before his face softened. “Baby, you can’t do that. I had my EpiPen in there” He frowned. 

“Wait- So you’re not carrying one?” Lucien asked quickly. 

“No, I know I should- but-“

“Don’t apologize, just take mine” Lucien frowned and slid it across the table to him. 

Gabe smiled and messed with it before leaning back to put it in his backpack.  
“Wait- you didn’t tell me it was in there, shit, I’m sorry,” Sam winced.

“Lesson learned, dumbass,” Balthazar pointed out, squinting at him.  
“Hey, he didn’t know” Gabe frowned at Balthazar. “Besides, I didn’t tell him because I figured I had another one, or I misplaced it and just thought I left it in there” He shrugged, turning to Sam. “Would now be a bad time to tell you I’m highly allergic to peanuts?” He asked softly. 

“You haven’t told him?!” Lucien snapped. “Gabriel!”

Gabriel whined a little and pouted. “..I’m sorry” He mumbled.  
“It’s been months!” Michael pointed out, eyes wide.

Sam’s mouth dropped open. “I- I mean, I’m not upset at you, but I could’ve hurt you, Gabe.”

Gabe turned and shrugged a little. “I mean hey-“ Gabe paused and immediately stopped his train of thought before having to change his mind on what he wanted to say. “You didn’t though” He smiled softly and looked at his brothers. “I’m still alive and kicking!” He laughed nervously.

Sam shifted uncomfortably, but gave a small smile. “I.. yeah? Not the point, but yeah, you’re still here.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “What were you gonna say?”

Gabe shifted more nervously as he shrugged. “When I told Asmodeus..” He grumbled and leaned closer to Michael so only he could hear. “He.. used to threaten me with it and that’s why I usually came home early or didn’t go with him” He mumbled and shrugged. “I’ve never been threatened with peanut butter before- I didn’t know what to do” He whispered and frowned at him.

Michael furrowed his brow, frowning. “You should’ve told us. We would’ve put a stop to it, that’s literally a threat to your life.”

Gabe shrugged and set a hand on the table. “I’m alive?” He asked nervously, feeling his stomach start to bubble in an anxious movement. “..I’m sorry” He mumbled, feeling sick all of a sudden.

Michael sighed softly. “It’s okay, it’s in the past. But you know we’ll help you, right?”

Gabe nodded and picked at the bottle’s lid “Samkims, your turn” He mumbled.

Sam nodded, thinking to himself for a moment. “Alright- Balthazar, ever committed a crime?”

“Hm.. technically, yes, but to be fair, I was seven, and it was a little tree that I took from a farm store. I tried selling pieces of it.”

“Common thief,” Michael joked.

“And for that, I skip you,” Balthazar scoffed. “So Lucien, why do you hate us calling you Lu so much?”

Lucien glared at Balthazar and sighed softly. “..Gimme the bottle” He muttered softly. 

“What, c’mon?” Gabe pouted. 

“..Dammit” Lucien sighed and rubbed his eyes, covering his face. “When Alfie was a baby he couldn’t say my name right.. so up until he was about ten he called me ‘Lu’ and now that he’s..” Lucien sighed and turned his head away. “Just fuck off” He muttered. 

Gabe frowned and put the bottle down to round the table, offering him a big hug. “I know” He mumbled softly, nails scratching over Lucien’s back.

Balthazar winced and shrunk away a bit. “Um.. sorry.”

Michael frowned and leaned toward him. “I think he learned it from me too, honestly. That’s all I ever called you.”

Lucien sighed softly and glanced away. “Alright knock it off, you’re gonna make Sam feel weird and uncomfortable” He muttered, sighing when Gabe let go of him. “Alright Gabe” He glared his throat. “Have you had sex with Sam yet?” He frowned. 

“So much for making him uncomfortable” Gabe sighed before smiling. “Hm..” He hummed before grabbing the bottle to pour a shot. 

“What are you doing?”

“Keeping you in suspense” He smirked, downing the shot.

“Wait- Hey, not fair,” Michael insisted with a laugh.

Sam laughed and shook his head. “Sucks,” He said. “That’s for us to know and you to probably not find out.”

“It’s been fun” Gabe smirked and smiled at Lucien. “Ever considered putting me up for adoption?”

“Every day of my life” Lucien mumbled, face resting on his cheek.

“We aren’t your parents,” Michael snorted.

“I mean-“ Balthazar started, “I don’t know, you kind of are.”

“Yeah..” Gabe mumbled and glanced at Sam. “Uh.. he doesn’t know” He whispered. 

“Why do you like to keep secrets?” Lucien joked. 

“It’s not a secret.. it’s just about mom and dad” He mumbled and glanced at Sam. “Here,” He mumbled and stood up, pulling Sam with him so he could take him to the kitchen of the bus and sit on the floor under the table.

Sam made a confused face as he followed him, tilting his head. “What’s going on?” He asked.

He shrugged and sighed. “I never told you about my parents because.. there are none” He mumbled. “After Samandriel was born, mom got sick and died hours after the birth. Dad lost it. He was an author before that but after mom died and Michael and Lucien were left to raise us, Dad was merely the only legal thing that was keeping us all together instead of in foster homes...” He paused and stared at the floor. “Dad killed himself as soon as the twins turned eighteen” He whispered. “Balthazar was about sixteen and I was fifteen... Little Sammy couldn’t have been more than thirteen when he lost a parent” He mumbled. “So the twins and Balthazar are really the only ones who can remember what mom and dad were like. I was a little too young to remember mom, but we all took it badly..” He rambled on before finally stopping. “I’m sorry I’ve been holding that off, I didn’t really mean to dump that on you, but I feel like it’s only fair for you to know” He smiled.

Sam frowned, nodding as he listened. “I get what you mean. Obviously not all of it, I don’t remember my mom, but not really having a parent figure other than your siblings.” He shook his head. “Losing people is awful. You don’t have to apologize.”

Gabe smiled widely as he leaned over to press his face into Sam’s shoulder. “Thanks for understanding then” He laughed softly before leaning his head up to press a soft kiss to Sam’s cheek.

“Of course,” Sam nodded, smiling. “So.. should we head back over? Michael keeps getting rejected for questions.”

He laughed and quickly kissed him before shifting to sit next to him. “We should” He mumbled softly, holding Sam’s shirt as he leaned over him to continue kissing him.

Sam hummed in agreement, but made no moves to go back as he kissed him. Gabe pulled back, only to look at the doorway. From where they were sitting, none of his brothers could see them. When Gabe realized this, he almost immediately shifted his hip over Sam’s lap to straddle his waist, getting back to kiss him. Sam inhaled sharply in surprise, wrapping his arms around Gabe to hold him by his back. Gabe raised his hands up to squeeze Sam’s shoulders before wrapping around Sam’s neck with a pleased, soft moan.

“Hey, are you gu- ah-“ Lucien groaned as he turned to stare at the wall “Get off of him!” Lucien frowned. 

Gabe whined when he was being pulled off of Sam by force, laughing partway through, back landing. on the ground to look up at Lucien. 

“What was our agreement to having Sam on tour?” He snapped softly. 

“To not have sex or sexually make out with him..” Gabe rolled his eyes with a groan. 

“And?”

“It wasn’t in front of you” Gabe whined.

"We were out of sight," Sam interjected with a sheepish smile, pulling his legs up to his chest.

"You're all ridiculous," Michael huffed. "Get back in here before Lucien has a meltdown."  
“Get your ass in there” Lucien frowned at him. 

Gabe sighed and stood up to walk back into the main room to sit down. 

Lucien sighed and gestured for Sam to follow him, still leaving a spot for Sam to sit.

Balthazar rolled his eyes as they all three came back to their spots. "Alright, well, anyway, Lucien. It's still your turn to ask a question."

Lucien hummed as he glanced at Gabe slowly moving to sit in Sam’s crossed legs. “Get off of him!” Lucien frowned at Gabe. Gabe only stared with a blank expression before sinking further against Sam, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Gabriel!” Lucien snapped and sighed, giving up. “Fuck it-“ He muttered and turned to Balthazar. “Have you ever mixed up me and Michael?”

"Oh yeah. When we were younger, and you two looked more alike," Balthazar nodded. "But I got around it by only ever saying your names when I knew who was wearing what."

Lucien laughed and shook his head. “I mean- If I’m being honest when I was younger I just didn’t give a fuck and called whichever one whatever name” Gabe mumbled. “They’d both still help me” He laughed.

"Did you ever cover up a slip-up by acting like you were joking?" Sam asked with a laugh.

"Oh, definitely," Balthazar snorted. "Went a whole day calling them by their opposite names once."

“I never cared” Gabe laughed and toed his socked foot against Lucien’s jeans. “Your turn bub” He smiled at Balthazar.

"Right, uhh, Michael I guess, since he's being ignored."

"Oh ha, ha," Michael huffed, crossing his arms.

"Sh. Okay, what's so bad about snakes?"

Michael wrinkled his nose in distaste. "They're just- ugh. No. I don't like them. They freak me out. Moving on. Gabe. Pet peeves?"

Gabe laughed. “Too many, gimme the bottle” He mumbled, taking a shot instead. 

“Sammykins,” He smiled and moved to whisper in his ear. “I dare you to either tell them I’m moving in with you, or take a shot” He smiled and moved back down.

"Um, should I be worried about them killing me?" Sam whispered back.

“What?” Lucien asked. 

“Probably not. They like you.. I think” Gabe mumbled. 

“As long as you’re not about to tell me you’re getting engaged I think I’ll be okay” Lucien frowned.

"No, no, not that," Sam insisted. "But uh, we made plans for after tour, uh, we were thinking that Gabe moves in with me."

Lucien stared for a second before reaching for the bottle. “No-“ Gabe frowned and moved it off the table. “Come on guys..” He whispered. “We’ve known. each other for at least a year and dated for like four months” He frowned, glancing at all their faces.

Michael sat thinking for a moment longer before nodding. "You're an adult, technically. You don't need our permission. Plus, we do like you Sam. Even if some of us don't admit it."

Gabe smiled and tilted his head back to kiss Sam’s chin. “That’s more than Assmold ever got” He grinned.

“Well, you also weren’t really an adult yet,” Michael shrugged. “Plus, he was an ass.”

“Psh. He doesn’t deserve you anyway,” Sam snorted.

Gabe smiled and looked back down before yawning and looking outside. “Hey, you can see the stars here” He smiled softly, watching the clouds and moon pass as the bus moved.

Sam smiled and leaned over to rest his cheek against Gabe’s head. “They’re nice tonight.”

“We should camp sometime. Or, sorta. I still want a camper,” Michael suggested.

“We all want a camper, Michael” Gabe laughed softly, leaning back to close his eyes on Sam’s chest. 

“Wait who’s turn is it?” He asked, thinking back before pointing at Sam. “Yes- I think, yeah, yeah” He mumbled.

“I’ll go anyway,” Sam snorted. “This goes to the rest of you, but are any of you planning to be in relationships anytime soon?”

Lucien hummed and shook his head. “Probably never if I’m gonna be honest” Lucien admitted before looking at Michael. “He’s more likely to get married than me”

Michael shrugged. “Maybe. We’ve met some people, but they don’t usually last long.”

Lucien smiled. “People don’t really.. like us for us. So if we do meet someone, they kind of have to be someone from our childhood or someone who’s so uncultured that they don’t even know our music” He shrugged.

“Or a special occasion, since you’re technically a fan,” Balthazar shrugged. “But the point is, it’s hard to figure out who wants to get to know you sometimes.”

“So now.. we’re probably not going to be seeing anyone soon” Lucien frowned and looked at Michael before pausing. “Even when you’re pan, it’s still hard” Lucien sighed.

Michael nodded. “But hey, we’ll find people eventually. Assuming we want to.” He shrugged. “Anyway, uh, who’s taking the next question?”

Lucien shrugged and looked at Michael and Balthazar. “You guys wanna take this one?” He asked.

“I’ll take it,” Balthazar offered, shifting to sit up more. “Hm.. Sam again. Got any stories from your past?”

Sam shifted a little where he was sitting. “I’ve got plenty. Be more specific.”

“No shit” Lucien laughed and looked at Sam with a knowing look. “Nothing part” He glared at Balthazar.

“What? Uh.. I don’t know. Childhood I guess.”

Sam shook his head at Lucien and sighed a little. “Uh.. once I tried to ride on the handlebars of Dean’s bike. He hit a bump and I flew forward and broke my arm. Wasn’t funny then, but it’s kinda funny to look back on.”

“Jesus” Lucien laughed softly. “I’ve only broken a few knuckles before” He mumbled.

Sam snorted and shrugged. “I hardly remember what it felt like, but I remember crying the whole time. We actually rode the bike to the hospital.”

“Jesus Christ” Lucien snorted, covering his mouth. “I’m sorry- I shouldn’t laugh but it’s funny” He smiled.

“I know, it’s alright,” Sam laughed, laying his head on Gabe’s shoulder. “Alright, whelp, your turn now I guess. Funny childhood story?”

Lucien shrugged. “That one time Balthazar hid in the clothes basket on tour to scare Gabe and Gabe was so tired he just asked what the fuck he was doing”

“That isn’t a childhood story,” Balthazar said, squinting.

“You were both technically children,” Michael stated.

“Yeah, well, fuck you.”

“We don’t have many childhood stories. Sorry our lives sucked” Lucien frowned at them before sighing softly. “I’m sorry, I just can’t remember any good childhood memories” He mumbled.

“No, it’s alright. I understand,” Sam assured him.

“What about..” Balthazar started, then stopped to hum to himself. “What about when we first decided we wanted a band? Dad actually helped us put it all together. We performed first at Michael’s choir performance.”

Lucien shrugged softly. “I mean, I guess that’s a fond memory” He mumbled. “It was a little embarrassing to be fair, but we won something for that, didn’t we?”

Michael nodded. “It’s a medal, hanging in our kitchen, I think,” he said. “Also, confidence for this band.”

“True” Lucien yawned and shook his head. “Man, I think it’s time for bed” He mumbled and smiled sleepily.

“What? What about food?” Balthazar whined. “I’m hungry dammit.”

“Dude it’s like eleven at night” Lucien whispered and sighed. “You make food and I’ll sleep” He muttered, getting up to crawl onto his bed.

Balthazar muttered to himself and moved to the kitchen area. “Fine. I’ll try not to step on Gabe and Sam again.”

“That’d be appreciated,” Sam snorted.

“Shut up and go to sleep!” Lucien glared and laid his head down to sleep again.

Michael rolled his eyes as he stood. “Goodnight.”

Sam nodded, then looked down at Gabe. “Ready for bed?” He murmured, nudging his arm softly.

Gabe made a soft noise in his sleep, continuing to lay motionless against Sam’s chest. Sam smiled, sitting for a moment before carefully picking him up to take to their makeshift bed on the floor.

Gabe grumbled his annoyance against Sam’s chest, reaching up to rub his eyes. “Where are we going?” He mumbled and yawned.

“To sleep,” Sam said, smiling softly as he sat both of them down on the blankets.

“But I’m not tired” Gabe mumbled softly as Sam lowered him onto the pillows. He cuddled up to them immediately and yawned again, rubbing at his eyes.

"Mhm, sure," Sam laughed quietly, laying the both of them down and under the first layer of covers.

Gabe hummed sleepily before drifting off, only to unwelcome to sleep. Hours passed as he tried, but couldn’t relax. He sighed and sat up in a fit of frustration and tiredness before standing up. He stepped over Sam and sat on his bed, staring down at him. He whined in anguish before shifting back down to lay back with Sam, letting himself suffer.

Sam mumbled in his sleep, fidgeting and frowning for a minute before relaxing again. He scooted closer to Gabe for more warmth, sighing softly. Gabe frowned at him and curled into Sam’s chest anyway, trying to sleep. It didn’t work. He slept for minutes at a time, waking up in different positions all around the floor until he gave up and set the iPad on the table so watch TV. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Lucien asked him around eight the next morning, squinting at his brother. 

“I can’t sleep” Gabe muttered, hugging his knees as he continued watching some reality show.

“Hm?” Michael mumbled tiredly, lifting his head. “Stressed or not tired?”

“..I feel sick and gross” He pouted. “I tried sleeping so many times, but something is making me anxious” He sighed.

Michael sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Like what?"

Gabe shrugged and stared at the iPad. Lucien frowned and moved out of bed, taking the iPad to shut off. “Come on Gabe. Talk to us..” He frowned. 

Gabe shrugged and glanced at Sam. “I don’t think Sam’s taking tour all that well. He doesn’t like people coming up and touching him like they do me” He mumbled. “I’m scared he’s gonna wanna go home and I won’t see him for another six months” He pouted.

Michael frowned and sighed, walking over to sit on his other side. "Well, we did warn him," he muttered, then shook his head. "Has he said anything?"

“..Nothing but rushing me back to the bus and stuff after the shows. That and telling me about how he doesn’t like crowds” He sighed and shrugged, leaning his head on Michael’s shoulder. “What if I won’t be able to see him for another six months?” He whispered.

Michael hummed in thought, reaching around to rub his shoulder. "Well.. you could always video chat," he suggested. "Still be there for each other. Unless he just opts for staying on the bus most of the time."

Gabe shook his head. “I don’t think he likes the bus. He’s kind of too tall for it” He sighed, feeling sleepy all of a sudden before whining. “I’m too tired to think but too anxious to sleep” He mumbled, tears forming in his eyes.

"Why don't we get some breakfast started then?" Michael suggested, glancing at Lucien. "Distract us a bit?"

“I’m not hungry” Gabe mumbled. 

“Come on, you love my pancakes” Lucien insisted. 

Gabe smiled and stood up, pulling his boxers up from where he’d been rolling around. “Can I cook them?” He asked, pulling on his shirt a bit before following Lucien. 

“I don’t see why not” Lucien smiled and got the things down. Within fifteen minutes of preparing, Gabe was finally able to start cooking the actual food. Lucien rubbed his head and sat at the table with Michael.

Michael grunted a little, watching Gabe as he worked. "So what do you think? Think Sam'll leave like he thinks?" he asked in a low enough tone so only Lucien heard.

Lucien frowned and shrugged a little. “Probably. But you can’t blame him, he’s still never been on this kind of tour” Lucien whispered softly and drank his coffee. “We left early on our first tour” He pointed out softly.

“Fair enough,” Michael sighed. “Guess I’m just worried about Gabe. He seems really anxious.”

“Like.. more than usual” Lucien mumbled. Gabe shrieked, jerking his hand back from the pan, letting the spatula clang to the floor. Lucien was at his side in seconds, trying to see under his arm that he was covering.

Sam jerked awake at his yell, looking around in a tired panic. “Gabe? Are you okay?”

“I’ve got him” Lucien called out, taking the rather deep burn to run under cold water. Gabe flinched, letting tears slide down his face as he stood still. “Come here” Lucien whispered, turning away from the medkit with a small packet and a large bandage.

Sam got up and stumbled into the kitchen, frowning. “What happened?”

“He was cooking, burned himself on something,” Michael summed up for him.

Gabe winched as Lucien dabbed the skin dry, soaking the rag in just a bit of blood. “Ow- Stop-“ Gabe snapped, trying to move his hand away from the stinging burn cream, calming down enough to let Lucien put the bandage on the curved area on the back of Gabe’s hand. Gabe frowned, rubbing over the bandage before gasping. 

“Don’t touch it” Lucien whispered sharply, taking hold of his hand gently.

“Is it bad?” Sam asked worriedly. “Are you okay?”

“Calm down, Sam, we’ve dealt with burns before,” Michael said, tilting his head. “He’ll be fine.”

“Better?” Lucien smiled widely at his brother. 

Gabe nodded a little, rubbed gently over the bandage before quickly remembering his pancakes. He quickly flipped the pancake with a plastic spoon in the jar and frowned at the small burned spots on the edges. 

“I’ve got it” Lucien whispered, washing off the spatula from the floor to wipe off. “Sit down” He smiled. 

“But I like doing this” Gabe frowned. 

“Just.. be careful” Lucien mumbled, sitting down to stare at him every few seconds.

“Are you guys done yelling?” Balthazar grumbled.

“Go back to sleep.” Michael sighed a little, resting his face against his hand. “Sorry for waking you both up.”

Sam shook his head, leaning against the small fridge. “It’s fine. Just scared me.”

“I’m sorry” Gabe smiled up at Sam from where he was standing. “You can go back to sleep if you want” He mumbled anxiously.

Sam shook his head, smiling a bit back at him. “I’ll be fine. I was probably gonna be up in a couple of hours anyway.”

“Alright,” Gabe smiled, flipping the pancake on a plate before putting another on the stove. “I’m still sorry for worrying you” He mumbled, putting his things down to hug Sam’s torso tightly. “Believe me, I didn’t want to hurt myself either” He laughed.

“I’m glad you’re okay, though, for the most part anyway,” Sam laughed softly, hugging him back. “It’s not hard to get me worried.”

“I know” Gabe mumbled, readjusting Sam’s hoodie on himself. He let go of Sam’s back to reach up so he could kiss his lips with a smile. “You’re just troubled for sure” He teased, not bothering to care when Lucien stood up to take over Gabe’s pancake job.

Sam snorted and shrugged. “No disagreements here. But we’ll survive.”

“Or maybe you will at least. Make my last day on earth at least a little enjoyable and kiss me goodbye” He snorted, pouting up at him. Lucien cleared his throat and looked at them. Gabe frowned, immediately lowering his head to stare at the floor.

“Lucien,” Michael huffed, eyes closed as he leaned on the table. “Knock it off. Still adults.”

“Michael, he’s still my baby brother” He protested, gesturing to him. “Look at him, he still looks five”

Gabe looked down from where he was trying to lick Sam’s face before glaring. “Hey!” He frowned.

“Psh, and you still act five sometimes,” Michael retorted jokingly.

Gabe smiled at this, leaning back into Sam’s chest before pushing him off. “Sorry- Um, Michael I wanna talk with you” He quickly stated and took a hold of his arm. “Come on” he whined, pulling at him.

“Huh-? Okay?” Michael said in confusion, following after him. “What?”

Gabe frowned and forced him to follow him until they were on his bed in the corner, whispering. “..I don’t know how to say it” He mumbled softly and frowned. “You know I really like Sam.. And I’m hoping you all like him too” Gabe mumbled. “And uh..” Gabe whispered, blushing.

Michael looked him up and down as he listened, squinting a little. “Yes?” He prompted. “I’m not going to be upset, or laugh at you.”

Gabe sighed as he relaxed a little. “I just need advice” He mumbled, staring at his toes. “..I want to ask Sam to marry me” He whispered softly. “Not now- like.. in a few days or something” He mumbled, scratching his knee. “It’s just.. he’s the only person all of you have really liked and Sam says I’m helping his emotional health and shit and.. I just thought..” He trailed off and cleared his throat.

A faint smile had spread itself across Michael’s face. “.. Do you think you’re ready?” He asked in an excited whisper. “I mean, I approve, of course I approve. You seem happy together.”

Gabe smiled widely. “It took a year for Kali’s parents to accept, and months for her to agree, and even longer for you guys to agree, so.. I think I am” He grinned. “I’ll tell him in a few days. I just.. feel so sick right” He mumbled. “..Because of this” He smiled widely.

Michael nodded. “I don’t blame you. Do you think you’ll be alright for our show tonight?”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine” He grinned. “I’m thinking on proposing the day we met” He laughed softly. “Or at least the number day” He shrugged.

“We’ll be supporting you from the sidelines,” Michael smiled. “Have you told Lu and Balthazar?”

Gabe shook his head. “Please don’t tell them.. I came to you because I knew what you would’ve said” He whispered, leaning forward to hug his brother around the neck. “Thank you, Mikey”

“No problem,” Michael assured him, patting his back before backing away. “We’d better get ready. We have to go make sure everything is in order on stage.”

“I know” He groaned and moved to sit up, staying still for a few seconds before slowly standing up. He blinked once before following after Michael into the kitchen. “I’m gonna get changed first, okay?” He mumbled, grabbing his bag.

Michael nodded. “Don’t use all the hot water.”

“Seriously,” Balthazar mumbled, face half-buried in his pillow.

Gabe laughed and rolled his eyes before walking into the bathroom. He came back out in about fifteen minutes, drying his head. He gave Michael a knowing look and made a slightly sick face before sitting on the bed to continue drying his hair.

Michael sighed a little, frowning as he headed into the bathroom. Sam moved away from the kitchen and sat cross-legged on the floor next to Gabe. “Hey. How’s your hand?”

Gabe looked down and frowned, rubbed over the new bandage he put on. “..Better I guess” He mumbled, looking down at Sam before nervously looking away. “Still hurts” He sighed.

Sam winced in sympathy, then tilted his head. “You okay? You seem anxious.”

“Yeah, no biggie” He laughed. “Just something coming up later this week” He mumbled.

Sam nodded. “Like, other than the shows?” He laughed.

“Shut up, I feel sick” Gabe snapped softly, dropping the towel on his bed. “I’m gonna go see where we are” He sighed, walking past Sam to the bus driver behind the curtain.

Sam nodded, standing up to head back into the kitchen with a sigh.

Lucien looked up at him and smiled. “What’s got you in a sad mood?” He asked.

“Hm?” Sam looked up at him. “Ah, nothing. Gabe’s just stressed.”

Lucien frowned as this and stared at Sam. “Still?” He whispered before sighing. “I hope he’ll be okay tonight. If not, we’ll have to reschedule” He mumbled.

Sam nodded and sighed. “I’ll keep an eye on him. I think I’ll stay backstage, though, if that’s okay.”

“That’s perfect. I’d prefer that” Lucien mumbled and smiled. “So do you wanna go to that Italian place or something for lunch today?” He asked.

“Definitely,” Sam nodded. “Had good ratings, from what I saw.”

“Maybe we can go this afternoon” Lucien suggested, taking the dishes to the sink to rinse off. 

Gabe groaned as he came back. “Just another forty minutes until practice” He frowned. “Then after an hour or two, we can eat” He mumbled before leaning on Sam’s shoulders. “If you don’t wanna stay for our practice, you could always go eat without us or explore the city” He mumbled.

“I can find us more road food,” he offered. “We’re starting to get low.”

“That’d be a good idea” Lucien nodded and smiled at him before looking at Gabe. “Hey, are you okay? You look really pale now..”

Gabe nodded “Yeah, just really weird right now” He mumbled.

Sam tilted his head. “Do you think you should rest more?” He asked, shifting his weight. “Or do you feel sick?”

“I couldn’t sleep at all last night, Samshine” He mumbled and let go of Sam to sit in an empty chair. “This usually doesn’t happen. Once in a while, I’ll want to go home, but I’m not homesick.. Well, maybe a little.. I miss Cas” He grumbled and laid his head on the table.

Sam hummed, fiddling with his pocket where his phone was. “Do you want to call him? It’s not too early, he’ll most likely answer.”

“Who?” Michael asked as he came out of the bathroom with clean clothes and a towel around his shoulders.

“Cas. Gabe is feeling kind of homesick” Lucien explained, sitting next to him to gently pet his hair. 

“I don’t know. I just don’t feel good” Gabe muttered, getting his phone out to text Cas that he wants him to call him.

Cas responded a few moments later with an “Okay”, and the phone began ringing.

Gabe sniffled as he picked up and put the phone on the table before laying his head down. “..Hey” He mumbled out softly. 

Lucien frowned at him, hand still in Gabe’s hair.

“Hello,” Cas greeted in confusion. “Is everything okay?”

Gabe hummed before sighing. “I feel sick” He complained, holding his stomach. “And I missed you”

“I missed you too.. are you getting sick? Maybe you should postpone for a couple of hours,” Cas suggested in a worried tone.

“No” He mumbled and shrugged. “I think I’ll get better. We’re gonna practice and just go with it” He insisted.

“Alright, well, be careful then. Drink water,” Cas stated. “How’s the tour been? We’ve seen a couple of the shows that people have posted.”

Gabe smiled softly. “Did you see the one where I tripped on the mic stand and raised my guitar to save it?” He laughed softly.

“I did,” Cas snorted. “We both did. How is your face?”

“It’s alright now” He smiled widely, closing his eyes in a sleepy daze. “Thanks” He mumbled softly.

“Of course,” Cas laughed softly. “And Dean says hello.”

“Tell Dean I said hi” Gabe whispered, blinking slightly before falling asleep on the table.

“I will.” There was a pause. “Did you fall asleep?”

Lucien smiled and carefully got the phone out from under the table to home to his ear. “Hey” He whispered. “I’m just gonna leave him because he hasn’t slept all night. He said he’s been having really bad trouble sleeping” He smiled, petting Gabe’s head again.

“Ah, alright,” Cas laughed. “Best of luck to you all tonight. We’ll try and watch somewhere.”

“Yeah, I hope so” Lucien grinned. “I’m gonna go and try and be quiet so he can sleep then plug his phone in. So, bye” He whispered softly. “See you soon”

“See you soon,” Cas said, ending the call.

Sam smiled a little and quietly took a step back. “Should we move him or..?”

Lucien quickly shook his head. “No..” He whispered, taking his hand away from Gabe. “He might not get back to sleeping” He frowned.

“Right,” Sam nodded. “I’ll just.. wait back here until he wakes up,” he continued, gesturing to their makeshift bed.

Lucien laughed and slowly stood up to not disturb Gabe. “Don’t be like that, I’ll keep you company” He teased.

Sam snorted. “Feel free.”

“Anything for my favorite brother’s boyfriend” He laughed, sitting down next to Sam on the blanket. He smiled and glanced down. “Are you scared of me?” Lucien asked with a frown.

Sam glanced at him and slowly shook his head. “No, not really. You get threatening when you’re defending someone but.. I get it.”

Lucien laughed a little and shrugged with a smile. “I just feel bad for Gabe right now. I don’t think making out with you and also making you sick would help his stress, ya know?” He asked. “I’m sorry for ever snapping at you and shit. I don’t think the clearest some times” He admitted before laughing.

“Seriously, it’s okay,” Sam assured him, shaking his head. “I wasn’t sure about Cas when he started going out with Dean, but he’s a good guy. Dean’s been the same way before.”

“I bet” Lucien mumbled softly and frowned before looking up at Sam. “I promise you, I will make sure Gabe stays alive” He smiled, trying to make light of the conversation.

Sam smiled a little back, shoulders dropping as he sighed. “I still haven’t told him about that.”

Lucien shrugged. “It takes time. I don’t blame you” He whispered, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “But don’t say anything if you’re not ready”

“I’m not, I don’t think,” Sam shrugged, picking at the fuzz on the blanket. “Maybe someday. I don’t know.”

Lucien nodded and gently rubbed his shoulder. “Hey, in the meantime- Let’s go get food” He grinned as the bus came to a slow stop.

Sam smiled again and nodded in agreement. “We’ve got two here sleeping still, should we wake them up?”

“Well..” Lucien frowned and shrugged. “We should, but Gabe really needs this right now”

Sam nodded. “Fair. We could bring something back for him if that works better.”

Lucien grimaced a little. “I don’t know.. The peanut allergy might be too big of a risk” He frowned. “We always have to thoroughly check and make sure..” He mumbled.

“True..” Sam sighed, tapping his fingers on his leg. “We could always ask them, but still.”

Lucien shrugged. “We can’t just speak to them about it” He shrugged. “We’ll have to go in and talk to a manager” He nodded softly.

Sam nodded along with him. “Yeah, and if it doesn’t work out we’ll bring him back something else.”

“He likes Olive Garden.. mostly for the breadsticks, but I think it’s gross” He shrugged. “He also likes any pizza place... that we let him go to” He quickly corrected.

“That he can eat at without reacting,” Sam reiterated. “We’ll find something.”

“I hope so. It’s always hard on tour so we stock up a lot of stuff. Especially grapes” He smiled and moved to stand up. “I’ll go ask” He mumbled, quickly putting on toes before walking off the bus to go inside. He came back at least twenty minutes later with a frown, sitting back down with Sam. “I don’t think we can” He mumbled. “They said over half the products have some kind of oil in them” He sighed.

“Hm. Well, there’s always other places,” Sam sighed. “Or I can just go pick up snacks. Make sure they’re safe for him to eat.”

“If you do, I want to come with you” He frowned. “Not that I don’t trust you, but there has been peanut free stuff Gabe has eaten and instantly had a reaction. So we have certain things from a mental list we made” He smiled.

“Fair enough. I don’t want to cause a reaction,” Sam laughed anxiously. “Now we just need to find a store.”

“For what?” Gabe asked softly, carefully lowering himself to sit next to Sam. 

“What are you doing awake?” Lucien frowned. 

“Can we get more grapes?” Gabe whispered with a yawn.

Sam snorted and nodded. “Yeah, we’ll get more grapes. But you need to sleep longer.”

Gabe glared at him before dropping his head on Sam’s shoulder. “Fuck you, giant”

Sam rolled his eyes and leaned his head over on Gabe’s. “I’m serious.”

Gabe hummed something before immediately letting out a sleepy laugh, falling unconscious seconds later. Lucien laughed and smiled at his brother. “He’s such a good” He whispered.

Sam nodded in agreement, smiling softly. “I think I’m stuck here now,” he whispered back.

Lucien shrugged. “I’ll go get pizza” He whispered, slowly standing up to walk to the front of the bus, talking with the driver.

“Sounds good.” Sam hummed a little and glanced over at Gabe, smiling before picking up his phone while they waited.

Gabe slowly slid until he fell off Sam’s shoulder, shooting up with wide eyes. “..Not fun” He sighed softly, reaching up to rub his eyes.

Sam put a hand on his back, tilting his head with a smile. “You okay?”

Gabe nodded a little. “I just.. don’t like waking up by falling” He laughed softly, leaning back against Sam.

Sam nodded. “Yeah, doesn’t sound like much fun. Lucien’s ordering pizza.”

Gabe nodded and smiled widely. “I want stuffed crust” He mumbled before sitting up, almost falling over on himself. He waited and stood up again, staggering to the door before going to find Lucien.

Sam snorted and got up to follow him. “Better tell him.”

“Tell who what?” Michael mumbled from his seat on his bed.

“Nothing, we’re ordering pizza,” Sam shrugged.

“Yeah and one..”

“Big”

“Large”

“Stuffed”

“Stuffed”

“Hm.. barbecue.. chicken, banana peppers, green olives, and onions”

Lucien fixes him with a look before hesitantly repeating it. “Barbecue sauce with chicken, banana peppers, green olives, and onion..” He mumbled, biting his lip to not laugh. “I know, it’s for my brother. Sam, you want anything?”

“We’re paying” Gabe quickly added, smiling at him.

“Um- just like, breadsticks,” Sam laughed a little.

“Get a pepperoni!” Michael said.

Lucien laughed as he rambled off the orders and paused. “Alright uh, put under the name Novak... Yeah, actually” Lucien smiled. “Yeah we’ll pick it up” He nodded. 

“Cool, I love pizza places” He grinned.

Sam snorted. “Should we wake Balthazar up finally?”

“Hm. Maybe. Or we ditch him,” Michael joked, standing up from his bed to join the others.

“Wake him up” Lucien frowned at them as he finished the call. “Don’t be mean though”

Gabe nodded and carefully walked over, nudging his brother’s sleeping figure. “Hey, you want some pizza?” He smiled down at his brother.

Balthazar grunted and shoved his face deeper into his pillow. He laid there for a second before sitting up and staring up at him. “What’d we get?”

“Family favorite barbecue. And Michael got a pepperoni because he’s boring” Gabe smirked. “Come on, get up because we’re on our way and going inside. So you need to shower and get dressed”

Balthazar huffed but complied, pushing himself begrudgingly off of the bed and into the bathroom.

Gabe laughed and sat up, almost falling onto the bed as he stood. He cleared his throat, almost throwing up before moving to start making Balthazar’s bed.

Balthazar returned from the bathroom a while later, giving him an odd look. “You didn’t have to do that you know.”

Gabe shrugged as he leaned against it. “I’m being nice. Don’t ruin the mood. It’s rare” He laughed. 

“No, it’s not, you’re one of the nicest of us” Lucien muttered.

Sam nodded beside him while Balthazar shrugged. “I mean, thanks. We should probably get going though.”

“Yeah..” Lucien mumbled and smirked at Gabe. “Do you need to hold my hand while walking?”

Gabe gripped the edge of the bed and stayed silent before looking up with a sick expression. “..Would you mind?” He asked softly, trembling.

Sam frowned, holding an arm out for him. “Maybe we should stay here? You don’t look like you feel good.”

“No, I’m fine” Gabe mumbled softly, taking a breath before easing himself off the bed. “I’m good..” He whispered, taking ahold of Sam’s hand. “Come on, let’s go” He insisted, pulling gently on Sam’s hand.

“Alright, I’m coming,” Sam sighed, smiling softly. “Let’s go get food.”

“Finally,” Michael joked, pulling open the door.

Gabe smiled, letting go of Sam’s hand to at least get outside on the sidewalk. “Hm.. I can smell the pizza place down the block” He smiled. 

“No, I don’t think you can” Lucien laughed, following after Sam.

“I mean, I smell fries,” Balthazar shrugged.

“We’re by a bunch of fast food places,” Michael pointed out.

“Gabriel Novak?!” A girl nearly screamed, coming up with another girl. “Can I get a picture?! Please?”

Gabe laughed softly and shrugged. “Sure, you want any others in?”

“Nope, just you” She grinned, offering the phone to him before wrapping her arms tightly around his neck for the picture. “I’m coming to see you tonight. It’s gonna be awesome!”

“Can’t wait to see if I can find you in the crowd” He laughed, hugging her before waving her off. “Alright, food time” He smiled.

Sam winced a little at the yelling, but kept up his smile. “Food time. I want my breadsticks.”

“Boring,” Michael joked.

“Alright, Pepperoni Pizza,” Balthazar taunted.

“You’ll get your breadsticks, relax” Gabe smiled and took Sam’s hand again to lead him around the block. 

“Are the breadsticks peanut-free?” Lucien immediately asked. 

“Calm down, I’m sure they are” He mumbled.

“I’ll make sure,” Sam told him as he followed after Gabe. “I can ask when we get there.”

“Exactly” Gabe smiled, squeezing Sam’s hand a little. “And if they do, then you’ll just have to not touch for me a while” He joked. 

“A long while” Lucien joked. “I’ll make you go weeks without touching!” Lucien teased. 

“I mean.. I’ll sleep on the bed again” Gabe mumbled.

“Hm. I’ll go through a power wash,” Sam half-joked. “Then it’ll be fine.”

“You don’t have to do that” He insisted. “I’ll suffer through loneliness” He joked as they walked inside. He jumped as someone was already in his face and hugging him. 

“Oh my god, you guys are Higher Archy! Can I please get a picture?” The teenager begged.

“Yeah, we don’t mind, who do you want in it?” Gabe smiled. 

“Just you please” She laughed and gestured for Gabe to take it. Gabe wrapped an arm around her and smiled widely for the photo, face in shock when she’d kissed his cheek. 

“Thank you!” She grinned, taking her phone back. “I’ll be watching at the concert tonight!” She grinned, walking out the door.

“That was.. sudden,” Sam mumbled, shifting a little toward the register.

“Not surprised,” Michael shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time fans have done that.”

“Just another day” Gabe snorted before turning to look up at Sam with a frown. “I’ll try to avoid that next time” He mumbled. “If you don’t like it, I won’t let it happen”

“Don’t, I don’t want to get in the way. It’s your life,” Sam shook his head, mustering up a smile. “I’m just still not used to be crowded by strangers.”

“Hey,” Gabe smacked his arm and stopped him to stand in front of him. “You’re a part of my life now. And for my life to be centered and happy, so does everything else in it” He squinted with a smile anyway. “So tell me if something’s bugging you or else it’ll make me anxious” He smiled.

“Alright,” Sam smiled back, shrugging a little. “I’ll keep that in mind. But for now, just try and feel better. Hopefully food helps.”

“Yeah..” Gabe mumbled, letting the topic slide as Lucien’s went up to lay for him, quickly taking his card to swipe first 

“Gabriel!” Lucien snapped at him. before he ran off beside Sam again. “Stop doing trust” He frowned.

“He’s never gonna stop, you should know that,” Sam laughed. “We have to race each other pretty much every time we go to pay for something.”

Gabe shrugged and took Sam’s hand again. “Hey, I like being nice sometimes” He laughed. 

“You’re not doing it to be nice, you’re doing it to be annoying” Lucien smiled at Gabe anyway before turning to someone behind the counter. 

“Will you at least try a bite of mine?” Gabe teased.

“Hm, maybe,” Sam snorted. “As long as the breadsticks are safe, I don’t want to touch them and then touch your food.”

“I’m still sticking with pepperoni,” Michael stated defiantly.

“Yeah because you’re boring” Gabe muttered and smiled widely up at Sam. 

Lucien turned with a frown. “I don’t know what you guys wanna do, but they said they can’t guarantee it with the breadsticks” Lucien frowned softly. 

“That’s okay, you can still have them” Gabe smiled, letting go of Sam’s hand.

Sam smiled a little and shrugged. “I mean, I’ll still get them, but I’ll also be in the bathroom later trying to not cause an allergic reaction.”

Gabe laughed softly and took Sam’s hand. “But you don’t have to right now” Gabe grinned, pulling him towards the door. “So until then, you don’t have to avoid me”

Sam squeezed his hand a little and smiled. “And I won’t. Might just shower while you guys practice.”

“For two hours?” Gabe teased before swinging their hands as they walked out the door. 

“Gabe used to take two-hour-long showers” Lucien smiled. 

“Hey, stop embarrassing me” Gabe laughed softly.

“Not two hours,” Sam laughed. “I’ll meet up with you after.”

“That sounds like a-“ Gabe was cut off when someone had knocked into him, gripping his shoulders tightly. “H-“

“Hi!” The girl smiled widely, a friend behind her. “Can we get a picture?” She pouted a little. 

Gabe smiled nervously, squeezing Sam’s hand as he leaned back to make sure she wasn’t in his face. “Uh.. y-yeah I guess” Gabe mumbled.

Sam squeezed a little back, an uncomfortable smile on his face. “Should I.. step out?”

“Yes, please” She smiled at Sam and pulled on Sam for the picture. Gabe pulled an uncomfortable face before Lucien was instantly between them. 

“Hey, I get you’re excited to know us and I really appreciate that you like us and want a picture, but you need to understand what personal space is. I’d also really appreciate it if you aren’t rude to my brother’s boyfriend” He frowned down at her. 

“Geez, I just wanted a picture” She muttered, glaring at Sam. “Whatever, you’re a jerk anyway” She muttered before stalking off with her arms crossed.

Sam pressed his lips together in annoyance, huffing. “Yeah, okay. We should probably get back to the bus.”

“Right,” Michael mumbled, patting Gabe’s shoulder.

Gabe frowned and turned to look up at Sam, rubbing his arm. “I’m sorry. I really wish you didn’t have to put up with these things” He whispered, walking hesitantly after his brothers, staying in the back with Sam.

“I don’t blame you,” Sam sighed softly, rubbing his thumb over his fingers. “A lot of them are like that.”

Gabe sighed and smiled a little. “Yeah.. but we can’t really do much about them. Lucien usually deals with people like that” He mumbled. “Let’s just go and eat.. With your breadsticks that could kill me” He teased, pushing on Sam’s shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

Gabe bit the end of his guitar as he stressed, staring from backstage at how many fans they had. 

“Nervous?” Lucien asked softly. 

Gabe took a moment to turn his head, suddenly feeling dizzy. “Uh.. no” Gabe shrugged and closed his eyes to stop the headache in the back of his head. “Just feeling sick, but I’ll be fine” He smiled, glancing at Sam.

Lucien frowned and looked out at the crowd from the dark they were sitting in. “It’s not too late to call off-“

“Lucien” Gabe frowned. “I’m gonna disappoint all those fans. They paid good money” He complained and smiled. “I told you, I’ll be fine” He grinned, feeling his heart start to speed up. 

“..If you say so” Lucien smiled. “On in like ten so get ready”

“I’m gonna yell into the mic,” Balthazar said with a grin.

Sam smiled a little, glancing out towards the crowd before shaking his head. “If you feel too bad, at least sit down or something?” He suggested.

“I know my limits, Sammy” Gabe smiled widely at him. 

“Wait what did he say?” Lucien whispered before running after Balthazar to catch him by the arm before the fans saw him.

“Hey!” Balthazar whined, tugging his arm.

“Just making sure he’s okay,” Sam told him, laughing a little at Balthazar.

“Nine minutes, cool it” Lucien muttered. 

“Relax, we’re just excited” Gabe smiled widely.

“They’re setting up our things now, just so you know,” Michael said, gesturing to the stage. “Do we need anything else?”

“Not that I can think of” Lucien smiled and glanced at Gabe. “We could go out early” He shrugged. 

“Yeah. Sooner we sing, sooner we get to sleep” Gabe smiled, standing up.

“It ends at the same time Gabe,” Michael pointed out. “But we could go out early, at least just to make sure everything is still working okay.”

“You’re right” Gabe laughed and stood up with his guitar. “Yeah, let’s go” Gabe smiled and came up to Sam awkwardly before carefully hugging him. “Please don’t kill me” He joked, stepping back. “Alright, see you in a few hours” He frowned.

Sam nodded and smiled. “I’ll be watching from here. Get out there and knock ‘em out.”

Gabe laughed and followed his brothers out, hooking in instruments and outlets to make sure they were on before testing the mics. He cleared throat and smiled. “Fuck” He simply said, nodding when he found out it was on. 

“Stopping fucking around with my mic!” Lucien snapped and sat down.

“Go fuck yourself!” Balthazar screeched into his mic, then hurried back to his end of the stage.

“Bal!” Lucien yelled, glaring his brother. “I’m gonna-“

“Okay shut up!” Gabe yelled into his own mic and turned to help Michael set up.

Balthazar snickered to himself as he tested his guitar strings. Michael rolled his eyes. “Alright, well, mine’s tuned,” he said, mostly to himself. “Are we ready?”

Ready when you guys are” Gabe shrugged and smiled at their crowd, giving them all a thumbs up. He made the small mistake of looking up at the lights above the stage that made him even dizzier. He pulled a weird face as he looked back down with fuzzy vision. Lucien smiled as he awkwardly began, watching Gabe with concern. Gabe faces back down, carefully beginning until he found the song he wanted to sing.

Michael and Balthazar started playing along with him, Michael glancing at Lucien and then back to Gabe worriedly.

[“Three p.m., on my feet and staggering, through misplaced words and a sinking feeling, I got carried away. Sick! sick of sleeping on the floor. Another night, another score. I'm jaded, bottles breaking!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gur6sKEGtg) Gabe grinned widely. 

[“You're only happy when I'm wasted”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gur6sKEGtg)

[“I point my finger but I just can't place it”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gur6sKEGtg)

Gabe paused on his words, almost forgetting them in a daze. He squinted at the ground and shook his head. 

[“Feels like I'm falling in love, when I'm falling to the bathroom-“](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gur6sKEGtg) Gabe began before feeling short of breath. He stepped back from the mic, the crowd spinning as he turned his head. He felt the heat rise in his chest as he panicked before he calmed down. 

Gabe watched the lights above him roll back with his eyes as he began to lean back, falling back onto the stage. 

“Michael!” Lucien shouted, messing up the beat as he hit the wrong drum.

“Gabe!” Sam’s panicked screech came as he bolted out onto the stage, hitting the floor hard as he fell onto his knees and pulled Gabe into his lap.

“Shit!” Balthazar stared with wide eyes for a moment before hurrying over with Michael in tow.

Lucien dropped his drum sticks to jump over the wires, standing behind Sam “Gabe?” He asked, bending down to take ahold of his head. “Gabe? Ga-“ He stopped to stare at his brother’s limp figure, fingers drawing back from his hair. “Get him out of here” Lucien yelled over the screaming and panicked fans.

Sam continued staring in shock at Gabe as he rocked back and forth on his legs, jolting back to reality as Michael shook his shoulder. He lifted him up into his arms, holding him against his chest as he hurried off the stage.

Lucien stood up shortly after to look out at the crowd in confusion. He frowned and pulled the mic to his mouth. “We’ll uh.. We’ve gotta figure this out, I’m sorry” he quickly blurted before running off backstage with his brothers to find Sam on the ground with Gabe again. He hurried over, tapping Gabe’s face a few times. “Gabe, come on” He whispered, brushing fingers over Gabe’s hair before feeling around for his pulse. “Should-“ He paused to look at his brothers. “What do we do?” He whimpered pathetically, tears forming in his eyes.

“I’ll- I’ll get the paramedics,” Balthazar stammered, taking off further backstage.

Sam was shaking, holding him as close as he could without getting in Lucien’s way. “I-I- what- how do I-“ he stumbled over his words, which only made him panic more.

“Just. Just lay him down,” Michael ordered, fear tinging his voice as he crouched down next to Sam and Lucien. “Make sure he’s still breathing until Bal gets back.”

Lucien sighed heavily, hands feeling around Gabe’s neck to feel his pulse. “He’s fine..” He whispered, trembling fingers brushing over Gabe’s fringe. “Yeah” Lucien whispered softly, tears falling onto his knees.

Michael nodded and let out a soft sigh of relief, rubbing his face before laying a hand on Lucien’s back. “It’s okay. We’ll have help soon.”

“Yeah” Lucien whispered, hands trailing to the back of Gabe’s head to feel around. He pulled his hand back and sighed in relief when there wasn’t any blood. 

Gabe winced suddenly, face scrunching up in pain. 

Lucien carefully let go of his head, pulling his bangs away from his eyes. “Gabe?” He whispered, rubbing a finger over Gabe’s cheek. 

Gabe panted painfully, squinting up at the sky before letting his head fall back again, frown dropping to a peaceful sleeping.

“Over here!” Balthazar called, gesturing for the paramedics to follow him. “I don’t know what happened, he wasn’t feeling well and he just- he just passed out.”

“He just woke up then fell back- we..” Lucien started, panicking as he backed up. 

“We’ll take him from here” The woman promised, bending down to check Gabriel’s pulse before getting a stretcher to get him on. 

Things were a blur from then on. Lucien was holding Balthazar as he sobbed, comforting him. They left everything and left for the bus as soon as Gabe was on his way to the hospital. It was silent, the air filled with tension. 

Lucien was first off the bus before it had even fully parked, waiting hesitantly on his brothers before running to the doors with them.  
Michael pushed his way to the front desk, knocking on the desk to get the lady’s attention. “Excuse me, um, we’re here for Gabriel Novak, he should’ve just gotten in a few minutes ago.”

The woman checked her computer in confusion before nodding. “Yes- He was just rushed in. They’re still getting set up so we can’t allow anyone in the room-“

“Please” Lucien begged. “He’s our baby brother..” Lucien whispered, frowning. “We- We’ll wait outside until then but please” He begged. 

She smiled apologetically at them before sighing. “Room Two thirteen on the ground floor” She mumbled, watching them collectively all run down the hall.

Sam was frowning and biting down on his lip, then reached forward to pull on Lucien’s sleeve. “He isn’t- he’s gonna be okay right?” he whispered.

Lucien paused in the hallway to shake his head, tears welling up in his eyes again. “I..” He whispered softly. “I don’t know..” He mumbled softly.

Sam drew in a breath and nodded, going quiet again as they made it to the door.

Michael frowned and leaned against the wall, seeming close to tears himself. “This.. This has never happened before.”

Lucien frowned at Michael and hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s.. we’re gonna be okay” He whispered softly. “..We’re not losing another family member” He frowned, wiping his own tears with his sleeve.

Michael made a noise in acknowledgment, keeping his eyes focused on the tile of the floor.

“We need to call Cas. He needs to know,” Balthazar said after a few moments of silence.

Lucien sighed and decided to take out his phone, scrolling through it until he found Cas and held it up to his ear. He swallowed and sighed softly, waiting.

“Hello. I thought you were doing your show right now,” Cas said in confusion. “What’s going on?”

Lucien took a breath before beginning to cry. “Cas..” He whispered. “Gabe.. He-“ He sighed and sniffled, covering his mouth. “We’re at the hospital..” He whispered.

There was fear and hesitance in Cas’ voice as he slowly responded. “He’s.. he’s okay.. right?”

Lucien paused before sighing. “..We don’t know. He hit his head after fainting” He whispered. “He hasn’t woken up since but.. he’s alive” Lucien smiled at that.

Cas sighed in relief. “Good.. good. How are you and the others holding up?”

“We’re not” Lucien mumbled and glanced at the door, wishing it would open. “I’m gonna go.. I want to uh.. be able to see him when he wakes up” Lucien smiled.

“Okay- Wait, what hospital are you in? I’m coming to check on him,” Cas insisted.

“Parkview. Room two thirteen” Lucien sighed and sniffled. “We’ll meet you here” He whispered. 

Lucien was the first to encase Cas in a big hug, sighing happily when he got to wrap Cas up in his arms.

Cas sighed softly, hugging him tightly before pulling away. “Sorry it took so long, we tried to go as fast as we could, have you gotten to see him yet?” he rambled.

Lucien shook his head and pulled away with a frown. “I guess they aren’t ready..?” He asked softly. “Or they’re waiting until he’s awake but no one’s left the room since” He whispered.

Cas frowned and huffed. “I can find someone and ask.”

“Don’t, it’s fine,” Michael grumbled, glancing up at him before looking back down. “Are you here by yourself?”

“No, Dean drove, he was finding a place to park,” Cas shook his head.

“Alright..” Lucien sighed and stared at the door, eyes widening when it actually opened.

The nurse smiled and glanced around at them, closing the door. 

“Um.. Can we?” Lucien whispered softly. 

“We really don’t want you to, but you can” She nodded. 

“Is- Is he awake?” Lucien bit his lip. 

“He’s sipping in and out of unconsciousness” She mumbled, moving past the door to let them in.

Michael took the lead as they slowly entered the room, hanging back to let his brothers and Sam see him. “Do you know what happened?” He asked, moving his head to see the nurse.

She smiled and nodded, gesturing to the x-rays of a skull. “He didn’t fracture anything or break anything, it just jostled his brain stem around” She frowned. “His brain is back in place, but it’s trying to recover from the shaking” She nodded, looking at the monitor that changed, smiling when Gabe opened his eyes, blinking them softly before the monitor changed and he fell back asleep. “Don’t be alarmed, he’s been doing that for the past half hour. He’s just recovering” She smiled.

“So he’ll survive?” Sam asked softly, hardly looking away from Gabe.

She laughed softly and pressed a hand to Sam’s shoulder. “He’s got a six percent chance of maintaining a coma. We think he’ll make it” She smiled, slipping from the room.

Sam sighed a little and walked around to sit on one of the chairs, quieting once again.

“That’s.. good, I think,” Balthazar said, looking around at the all.

Lucien shared a glance with Michael before staring at Gabe’s bed. “..What do we do now?” He whispered. Gabe blinked open his eyes, staring up at the hospital ceiling in a daze. “Gabe?” Lucien whispered, rushing over to stand next to him. 

Dean carefully opened the door and closed it behind them, finding Cas. “He’s awake?” He smiled. 

Gabe hummed, raising his hand slowly to touch his temple in confusion.

“The nurse says he’s been going in and out,” Cas murmured to Dean, then smiled a little. “But I think this is a good sign.”

Sam sat up in his chair, then moved beside the bed. “Gabe?”

Gabe blinked once before turning his head to stare at Sam in confusion. He squinted at  
Sam before closing his eyes again. Lucien frowned, squeezing his hand tightly. Gabe turned his head to look up at Lucien, head throbbing as he winced. “..Lu?” He mumbled, looking back at Sam. 

“How do you feel?” Lucien whispered, looking down at his baby brother. 

“I..” Gabe whispered and hesitated before falling back asleep. 

Lucien sighed and rubbed his fingers over Gabe’s hand.

Sam rested one hand on the edge of the bed, watching Gabe anxiously.

“At least he’s still waking up,” Michael pointed out, trying to lighten the mood. “So he should be recovering okay.”

“Good,” Cas sighed, leaning against Dean’s shoulder. “One brother has been enough loss.”

Dean frowned, putting an arm around Cas shoulders. “I know, babe” He whispered, rubbing his arms. 

Gabe inhaled and blinked his eyes open, looking at Lucien who was squeezing his hand. “Hey,” He mumbled with a smile before turning to Sam. He moved to sit up, winching painfully when he straightened up.

Sam perked up again, giving him a worried smile. “Hi..- hi, how’re you feeling?” He whispered, lowering himself closer to the bed.

Gabe sighed softly and smiled, leaning closer to Sam’s chest to lay on his shoulder. “Not good..” He whispered, smiling anyway as he tried to stay awake.

Sam gently put an arm around him. “You hit the stage pretty hard.. we’ve been here for a few hours now.

“I can feel it” Gabe mumbled, relaxing enough to fall asleep on Sam again.

Lucien smiled softly at Gabe and sighed after he leaned back. “I’m gonna ask how long until we’re able to check him out” He mumbled, hesitantly letting go of Gabe’s hand to walk to the door. 

Gabe blinked his eyes open in confusion, looking up at Sam again with a dopey smile. “Hi Sammy” He whispered.  
“Hey Gabe,” Sam murmured with a small smile. “Cas and Dean are here too.”

Gabe smiled and refused to turn his head, staring at Sam. “I want Cas” He smiled, finally moving away to sit up fully, moving his legs carefully to try and get out of bed.

“Hey- Gabe, Gabe, wait a minute,” Sam insisted, frowning. “You’re attached to the monitors still, you can’t just get up.”

“I’ll just come to you,” Cas suggested, pulling away to go up to the bed.

Gabe frowned as he carefully moved back to sit on the bed. “You don’t need to baby me” Gabe whispered, taking Cas’s hand to squeeze. “I’m fine” He mumbled softly, immediately feeling dizzy, leaning against Cas’ chest.

“Are you sure?” Sam asked, shifting his weight a little.

“He’s awake, that’s as good a sign as any,” Cas said, shaking his head a little. “You really don’t want to rip these out of your arm, though.”

Gabe frowned, about to protest before giving in. “..Can we get pancakes after this?” He asked softly, closing his eyes against his brother’s chest.

“Hm.. maybe,” Cas hummed, shrugging a little.

“When we get back to the bus, we’ll make some,” Michael sighed. “I don’t know when we can leave. Lucien’s asking.”

Gabe smiled widely, settling back in the bed, staying upright. “Nice” He whispered, turning to take Sam’s hand tightly.

Lucien smiled as he came back in, looking at Gabe. “Hey Gabey” He whispered, coming up to the bed. “Doc says you can go home if you can stay awake for a whole hour. Think you can do it?” Lucien smiled. 

Gabe frowned and shook his head, already feeling tired.

Sam grimaced, keeping hold of his hand. “I think we should stay here for a little bit. Just to make sure everything’s okay.”

Lucien frowned, sitting next to Sam, closer to Gabe’s legs. “We can stay here” He whispered. 

“I wanna go home” Gabe frowned. 

Lucien shrugged. “You’ll get home eventually” Lucien promised.

“Just give it time,” Michael nodded.

“We should uh, probably postpone tour dates huh?” Balthazar groaned. “We don’t wanna jump right back into it after this.”

“People will just have to understand” Lucien muttered, staring at Gabe’s legs. 

“It’s fairly simple” The doctor explained to a nurse as he walked in and noticed Gabe was awake. “You’re awake” He smiled. 

“Yeah..” Gabe whispered, pulling his knees further into his chest. “Am I uh.. okay?”

“Yes. You’re doing very well. We just believe you had a minor case of Vasovagal syncope” He nodded. “It’s basically getting so stressed to the point your brain just can’t handle it and knocks itself unconscious for some rest” He explained. “In most cases, the person is just feeling sick, having trouble sleeping or being dizzy” He shrugged, “But sometimes the brain just can’t function the stress it’s giving itself”

Cas frowned and glanced at Gabe. “What were you so stressed about then? I thought everything was going well.”

Gabe looked at Cas and shrugged, staring down at his shoes. “I don’t know.. Sam on tour, my peanut allergy, fans coming up to us, not being able to sleep, feeling sick from not eating but too sick to eat” He mumbled. “And.. other things” He shrugged. “Just a lot of things”

Sam grimaced a little. “We should probably take a break then. I- we don’t need anything worse happening.”

Gabe smiled at that and looked up at the doctor with a small frown. “When am I able to go home?” He asked softly. 

“When you’ve been up for an hour. How long have you been awake without falling back to sleep?” 

Gabe frowned and looked at his brothers for help. 

Lucien shrugged. “I left the room” He mumbled. “Twenty minutes? Unless he fell back asleep after I left”

“So if you can last another forty minutes or so, we can leave,” Michael nodded.

“Think you’re up for it?” Balthazar asked, smiling a little.

Gabe frowned and stared at Michael. “But this isn’t fair.. It’s like nine at night” He whispered, feeling the drowsiness kick in. 

“Hey,” Lucien frowned and shook him a little. “You want those pancakes or not?” He smirked. 

Gabe pulled a face and bit his lip. “..Yeah” He mumbled. 

“Does it count if he’s about to fall asleep and we keep him away?” Lucien asked. 

The doctor hummed. “I’d prefer you didn’t because it messed with the brain, but can affect him later. 

“You heard him Gabe” Lucien frowned. “Stay awake on your own or wait until tomorrow morning to wake up”

Gabe groaned and nodded. “I’m trying tonight” He smirked widely.

Sam smiled a little and nodded, then looked over at the doctor. “I don’t know when you stop taking visitors.. do we have to leave?” He asked, edging closer to the bed.

The doctor inhaled and stared around at Gabe’s brothers. “..Normally I would tell you only two or three were allowed to stay, but that’s cruel to make you all fight since you’re all brother. If Gabe does fall back asleep, we’re going to make him stay overnight to care for him. In that case, we could bring in a couple more chairs and that’d be that and the switchboard can just ignore it for all I care” He smiled. “I’ll be checking back in about thirty minutes from now, so don’t be snoozing off on me” The doctor teased before making his way to the door. 

Gabe frowned and rubbed at his eyes. “I’m doomed” Gabe whispered, staring at the bedsheets.

“Hey, it’s gonna be fine,” Balthazar assured him. “It’s just half an hour.”

“While we’re waiting, we can just talk. Pick a topic, any topic,” Michael insisted, gesturing broadly with his hands.

Gabe shrugged and frowned a little. “I don’t feel like talking. I had to cancel the concert because I was stupid and didn’t think about what I was doing. I’m the reason we’re all here and not on our way back on the bus sleeping” He whispered, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “And I’m so sorry.. I didn’t-“

“Hey, that’s enough of that” Lucien frowned, putting a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You just stressed yourself out, and that’s not your fault. Stuff happens, you just need to be more relaxed” Lucien smiled, rubbing his brother’s cheek. “Don’t cry about it, Gabe” He smiled. 

Gabe sniffled and smiled anyway, leaning on his knees.

“Nobody here is blaming you,” Cas insisted.

“And if there’s anything we can do to help you relax, then just say the word,” Sam cut in with a nod.

Gabe smiled softly at Sam, shrugging. “Thanks, but you seriously don’t have to baby me” He frowned. “I’m feeling better now” He mumbled.

“I know, I’m just.. making sure,” Sam shrugged, chewing at his lip.

Gabe smiled, raising a hand to pull Sam’s lip from his mouth. “I know” He mumbled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Sam’s lips.

Sam smiled a little, gently resting his hand over Gabe’s. “Ready to stay up another half hour?”

Gabe frowned and groaned, staring at the tubes in his arms. “I don’t really have a choice” 

“You do, just get to sleep with Sam and get pancakes in one choice” Lucien smiled. 

“..I think I chose my choice” Gabe smiled.

Sam laughed softly. “Well, we could always try Michael’s idea and just.. talk about random things.”

“It’s working” Gabe laughed, squeezing the tube on his arm curiously. 

“Don’t do that” Lucien scolded, rubbing his shoulder.

“You’re no fun” Gabe muttered.

“These help you stay alive,” Michael snorted, leaning back against the wall.

Gabe gave Michael a terrified look, the monitor showing his heart increase. “Knock it off, you’re scaring him” Lucien frowned at Michael.

“He can’t pull at them,” Michael huffed, staring back at him.

“But he’s fine. He just needs to stay awake. That’s all,” Cas pointed out.

Gabe smiled anxiously at Cas and shook his head. “This isn’t fair. I’m tired” He complained and sighed, moving his legs to cross them.

“It’s not too long,” Sam smiled softly, rubbing his shoulder.

“You don’t have a concussion” Gabe glared at Sam angrily.

“Doesn’t mean I never have,” Sam mumbled with a shrug.

Gabe softened his gaze and turned his head to lay on his knees, closing his eyes. “Gabe- hey, gotta stay conscious” Lucien frowned at him. Gabe opened his eyes to stare at his brother before turning to face Sam and close his eyes. “Sam isn’t going to let you sleep either” Lucien scolded.

“I will not,” Sam sighed, patting him to wake him up again. “Come on, I want to get you out of here.”

Gabe grumbled and stared at Sam before huffing. “Small nap?” Gabe asked softly, leaning onto Sam’s shoulder to close his eyes again, getting comfortable.

“No,” Sam shook his head. “You can sleep after we get back to the bus.”

Gabe breathed in softly, letting himself relax enough to try and sleep again. 

“Gabe- Gabriel, get up” Lucien frowned at him. “Come on” He whispered. 

Gabe glared at Lucien with a frown. “Just let me sleep”

“Do you really want to stay in a hospital bed all night, alone?” Lucien pleaded. 

Gabriel sighed heavily, pushing his face back into Sam’s sweatshirt.

Sam held his shoulders to gently sit him up. “Please? I know you don’t want to stay here, and I don’t want to have to leave without you.”

Gabe frowned and pulled away to cross his arms slowly over the IVs and other tubes he didn’t know names of. “..Fine but only because I miss our blanket forts”

Sam gave a small sigh of relief and smiled. “On the bright side, we’ve got almost twenty minutes now.”

Gabe frowned and shrugged. “Can we just go home now?” He asked softly.

“Not yet,” Cas shook his head. “But I suppose Dean and I should find a place to sleep, so we can drive a few hours back home in the morning.”

“I’m sorry for bringing you all the way out here” Gabriel whispered. 

“Don’t apologize. You got sick” Dean smiled widely at Gabe. “That’s not anyone’s fault”

Cas nodded in agreement. “Besides, you weren’t going to stop me from coming. I was worried.”

“Yeah but I should’ve just sat this one out” Gabe muttered, glaring at his shoes on the bed. 

“Hey, stop beating yourself up over this. You don’t need forgiveness for an accident” Lucien smiled at him.

“It’s not like you wanted to be stressed so much,” Michael nodded. “You’ll be okay, and I’m sure the fans will understand.”

“Maybe” Gabe sighed, wiggling his toes together. “I hope they will” He whispered.

“They’re usually pretty chill,” Balthazar shrugged. “At least, toward us.”

“I know they all like me, but I’m scared they’re gonna be angry at me” Gabe shrugged, rubbing at his eyes to stay awake.

“The ones I saw looked pretty freaked out when you fell, I don’t think they were thinking about the show,” Michael noted.

Gabe smiled widely at that. “I feel terrible.. I guess now we have content for our channel at least” Gabe laughed.

“Ooh! I’ll get the camera!” Balthazar grinned, bouncing a little on his feet.

Lucien laughed and watched his brother. “We could just go live on Instagram from my phone” He smiled. “But yeah go get the camera” He mumbled, opening Instagram. “How’re you feeling?”

Gabe smiled and nodded, staying in Sam’s arms as he yawned again, shaking his head to stay awake. “I’m good” He smiled.

“Good,” Sam murmured as Balthazar hurried from the room. He shook his head and smiled. “Are you camera ready?” He joked.

Lucien laughed and held the phone up to his face, starting the live stream. “Yeah, just gotta wait for people so we can explain” Lucien frowned, staring down at the people coming in and typing in chat. “Yes, we are at the hospital” He mumbled and looked up at Gabe with a smile. 

“People must be worried” Gabe frowned, pulling on Sam’s arm. “Get up here with me” He pouted softly.

Sam glanced down at him, then carefully adjusted himself up on the bed, making sure not to hit anything.

“How many people are on?” Michael asked, moving to hover over Lucien’s shoulder. “Hey guys, give us a minute and we’ll explain.”

“Fuck off, my phone” Lucien smiled and checked. “Twelve thousand” He mumbled and smiled at Gabe. 

Gabe moved Sam’s leg to cross over the straight one before crawling into his lap, careful not to pull out the tubes in his arms. He sighed softly, nestling into Sam’s shoulder again. 

“Okay,” Lucien paused to look up at Gabe. “Yes, Gabe is fine. He’s in the hospital, staying awake so we can take him back home” Lucien explained, looking through questions. “We don’t know how the tour is going to continue. We just can’t answer that right now..” Lucien frowned and stared at Gabe. “But our brother is safe and that’s what we care about” Lucien grinned widely.

“But look on the bright side!” Balthazar chimed as he came back with the camera. “We’re finally posting on Youtube again!”

Lucien laughed and smiled at Balthazar’s camera. “Yeah, he’s filming for the channel and updates and I’m just here to calm everyone down” Lucien mumbled and looked up at Sam with a frown. “They wanna see you and Gabe, is that okay?” He asked, keeping the camera facing towards him. 

“It is if Sam is okay with it” Gabe mumbled, closing his eyes a little as he began to doze off.  
Sam grimaced a little, then gently shook Gabe’s shoulder to keep him awake. “I guess..? Gabe, you gotta stay up.”

Gabe jumped and reached up to rub his eyes as Lucien smiled and flipped the camera. “They say you’re cute together”

“That’s nice, but it’s nap time” Gabe whispered, moving back to lay his head on Sam’s shoulder.

“No it isn’t, you’ve still got a little over ten minutes,” Sam said, brushing his hair away from his face before nudging him upright again.

Michael nodded with a sigh, then pulled Lucien’s phone toward him. “So long story short, Gabe most likely has a concussion from the fall, so the doctors wanted him to stay awake for at least an hour after he finally woke up again.”

“And he’s not happy about it,” Balthazar finished with a nod, turning the camera around the room. “We’re having a good time.”

“No, we’re fucking not!” Gabe snapped from his nest in Sam’s arms. “You don’t feel a rod stabbing your head and making you want to cry..” He mumbled, reaching up to touch the back of his head. 

“We know, Gabe” Lucien whispered, smiling at his brother before flipping the camera back around. “So we’re getting there. Hopefully we can get some pain medicine for Gabe after we take him home” He mumbled and looked at his brothers. “The serious question is tour”

“Yeah.. I’m not an expert on concussions exactly, but I don’t think he should be pushing himself like that for a while,” Michael sighed. “So uh.. we could just do Q&As? At least until Gabe’s feeling good enough to perform.”

Lucien nodded. “Maybe a few updates on his health and a few- Gabe you can’t sleep!” Lucien cried, watching his brother bolt his head up after almost dozing off. Gabe bobbed his head a few times before yawning and leaning back, trying to keep his eyes open. “I know it’s hard, but you have to” He frowned. 

“I am, I am” Gabe mumbled and looked at Lucien. “Can I sleep in the car..?”

“Of course buddy” Lucien whispered.

“Sleep as much as you want after they let you out,” Sam nodded.

Gabe hummed and yawned, quickly looking at the door when it opened again. Lucien quickly put his phone down without stopping the live stream. “Is he?” Lucien asked softly. 

The doctor smiled at them. “Has he stayed awake?”

“Yes, all this time, they wouldn’t let me sleep. So I’m still up” Gabe frowned. 

“Alright,” The doctor laughed and moved to the bed’s side, doing something on the computer before taking Gabe’s arm to carefully taking out the IV and other things. Gabe instantly drew his arm back, rubbing the area. “I’ll have a nurse check you out in the front office” He smiled and carefully left the room.

“Great, good,” Cas grinned, hugging Dean quickly before simply standing at his side. “Well, we should really find a place to stay tonight, besides the Impala. Let me know how you’re doing tomorrow, okay?”

Gabe nodded and waved as Cas and Dean left. “Freedom?”

“Freedom” Lucien grinned. 

“Yes!” Gabe grinned, moving out of Sam’s lap to slide off the bed, unable to stand as he slid to the floor, landing on his ass. 

“Gabe-“ Lucien panicked, looking over the bed at him. 

“Ow” Gabe frowned and shifted to sit up against the bed, climbing into a standing position.  
“Are you okay?” Sam asked hurriedly, hopping off of the bed after him.

“Yeah- yeah..” Gabe whispered, gripping at the bed. “I’m fine. I got this” He mumbled and carefully took a step to the door before taking slow steps the doorway. “I got it” Gabe grinned.

Sam frowned and followed after him, Michael giving him an odd look before beckoning for Balthazar and Lucien to follow them to the front desk. Gabe slowly and carefully walked until he walked back to take Sam’s hand. He smiled, leaning on Sam for a little support as he walked. He’d never want to admit it, but he’s willing to get help when he knows he needs. Sam simply squeezed his hand a little and continued walking with him, going at a slow enough pace for him to keep up until they’d made it downstairs.

Gabe looked around anxiously before messing with the hospital bracelet he was forced to wear. “I’m never gonna hear the end of this, am I?” Gabe asked with a frown.

Balthazar shrugged. “I mean, you could always use it as a story sometime.”

Gabe shook his head. “It’s gonna bring up bad memories” Gabe frowned.

Sam grimaced and nodded. “We don’t need to bring it up.”

Gabe smiled and leaned his head against Sam’s shoulder. “Thanks” He mumbled, letting go of his hands to walk to the front desk, sandwiching his way between Michael and Lucien. He was just a little too short for the counter, almost coming up to his chest, putting both hands on the counter. 

Lucien smiled down at him, stroking his hair a few times before looking up when the woman talked. 

“Alright, I need the oldest legal guardian to sign here and you can be on your way”

Lucien smirked and took the pen, signing it with a shit-eating grin. When he was done, he slid the paper back to her and stared at Michael. “I’m older” He grinned.

“Asshole,” Michael muttered, but smiled so he knew he was joking. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Sam snorted, already inching away from the desk.

“Calm down, we’re coming,” Michael scoffed.

Lucien smiled and put an arm around Gabe’s shoulder to make sure he stayed up. “Feeling better?” He asked. 

“It’d be better if I could sit down, but I can’t right now” Gabe sighed, his breathing becoming ecstatic as he stopped on the curb of the hospital road. 

Lucien frowned and bent down to pick him up around his waist. “I’ve got ya”

Gabe was about to protest before he became too tired to complain. He wrapped his arms around Lucien’s neck and closed his eyes, easily falling asleep on the walk to the bus. Sam continued to glance at him anxiously as they made it back onto the bus, taking an extra blanket to give their bed on the floor extra cushioning.

Balthazar immediately collapsed onto his bed with a gruff sigh. “That’s enough adventure for one day I think.”

Lucien smiled, shifting down to get on his knees, easing Gabe’s back to the ground. He untangled his arms from his neck and leaned back up once he was passed out on the floor. “..I think he’ll be fine” He mumbled, looking up at Balthazar with a wide grin. “Too scary for you?” He joked, easing Gabe’s shoes off to lay next to his bed before getting up.

“Hm. Shut up,” he huffed, moving his arms to hug his pillow as he settled down.

“Had me worried for a while- had us all worried,” Sam sighed.

“Little more than worried” Lucien frowned before taking his own shoes off to sit on his bed. “But I’m glad he’s okay” Lucien whispered, staring down at Gabe as he yawned. Gabe raised a hand to his eyes, rubbing over his eyelids before squinting up at Sam sleepily.

“But of an understatement, I know,” Sam nodded, looking down at Gabe and smiling. “Hey. You can sleep now, nobody will bother you.”

Gabe glared up at him and moved to sit up. “But I’m not tired now” Gabe complained, crossing his arms. 

Lucien stared at Gabe before breathing in slowly. “You’re about to have a second concussion if I just heard you right” He mumbled. 

“I said I’m very tired!” Gabe tensed up and smiled at his brother before they both laughed.

Sam smiled a little and sat down to lean against the side of Gabe’s original bed. “You’d better sleep.”

“Both of us will fight you,” Michael chimed in as he fell back on his own bed.

Gabe shrugged and smiled widely. “You can’t fight me.. I’m the baby” He smirked, glancing up at Michael.

"You're technically an adult," Michael pointed out jokingly. "Sure we can fight you."

Gabe smiled and shook his head. “Alright. Fight me. Do it, right now” He glared.

Michael stared at him, then got up from his bed and moved towards him, sitting next to him before flopping over to lay on his stomach. "Go to sleep."

Gabe jumped, falling back onto the pillow, gently pushing on Michael’s shoulders. “Get off! You’re really heavy” He grumbled, trying to push Michael further off.

"No, go to sleep," Michael grunted..

Sam laughed and looked over at Lucien. "Are you gonna help him?"

Lucien frowned and watched. “No” He muttered. 

Gabe grunted and began panting, chest struggling to rise due to Michael’s weight. “Mike..” He mumbled, feeling light-headed. 

Lucien quickly jumped out of bed to help Gabe by lifting Michael off of him. “Alright, enough messing around” He frowned at both of them.

"I agree, that's why we should all sleep," Michael huffed, trying to drop himself to the floor and get Lucien off of him.

"At least one of us is trying to, shut up!" Balthazar groaned with his face still planted in his pillow.

Gabe looked up at Balthazar before groaning. “Fine” He muttered, going through his bag to quickly change into a pair of shorts. “Then let’s sleep it off” Gabe smiled, stretching his arms over his head before throwing them over Sam’s shoulders. He effectively pulled him down into the pillows, pulling him in for a short kiss. 

Lucien actually smiled at this and straightened up to climb into his own bed to lay down.

Sam took a moment to kiss him back, then pulled away with a small smile. "I'm really happy you're okay," he murmured, moving to lay on his side next to Gabe.

Gabe laughed softly, drawing his hands back to cuddle into Sam’s neck. “Me too” He mumbled, throwing his leg over Sam’s hip to get comfortable.

Sam hummed in agreement and sighed softly into Gabe's hair, closing his eyes but unable to quite get to sleep. Gabe breathed softly until it slowed. His hands stopped fidgeting against Sam’s chest and his smile dropped a little when he began to snore.

Sam stayed in his place with his eyes closed for a little longer before giving up and watching out of one of the windows as they started to move again.


	13. Chapter 13

“And here, we have the gays in their natural habitat” Lucien smirked, filming them. 

Gabe yawned from under Sam’s shirt, shifting his head a little, his hair poking out of Sam’s neck hole. 

“..Majestic” Lucien whispered, zooming in on them.

Sam opened his eyes further and snorted when he finally focused on the camera. "Ugh, I'm too tired to be in a movie," he joked

Gabe grumbled from under Sam’s shirt, raising his head to poke out of the neck hole enough for his eyes and some of his nose to be out, staring at Sam. “Fuck off” He mumbled softly, going back down. 

Lucien laughed loudly, stopping the recording after a few seconds to smile at Gabe and Sam. “That was amazing” He mumbled.

Sam laughed a little and rolled his eyes, then yawned. "I feel like I should just start buying extra-large shirts for both of us."

“Shut up and let me stare at your chest in peace” Gabe grumbled, running his fingers over Sam’s pecs.

Sam snorted and laid more into his pillow. "Only if I can try and sleep again."

“Only if I can continue staring at your chest” Gabe whispered in awe, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade. 

“Hey- alright, get out of there” Lucien frowned at Sam. 

“No!” Gabe screeched, wrapping his arms around Sam’s bare chest.

"Shhh!" Balthazar hissed as he got out of bed. "Just woke up, yelling is nonexistent for another twenty minutes."

"So sorry," Sam said half-mockingly, then laughed a little and put his arms lightly around Gabe.

Gabe breathed in deeply before pressing more kisses to Sam’s chest, slowly moving to his neck. He smiled, pecking up his jawline to get to his cheek, sprinkling them.

Sam laughed softly, tilting his head down toward Gabe's. Michael had gotten up at this point, rolling his eyes. "Get a room, would you? We've still got a few more hours on this bus."

Gabe turned when they were about to kiss to glare up at Michael. “It’s a bus, we could go to the bathroom or kitchen for privacy, but you know what happens then” Gabe smirked. 

“Nope! Absolutely not. You’re staying right there” Lucien glared. 

“What I thought” Gabe whispered, leaning back up to kiss Sam again.

"Welcome back to the 'Raise Lucien's Blood Pressure' Tour!" Balthazar announced jokingly, smirking at his brothers before reaching up to grab cereal from one of the little cabinets.

Gabe pulled back, a pout still on his lips as he pulled away. He stared at Balthazar for a moment before turning back to kissing Sam

Sam kissed Gabe back softly, snorting a bit as Balthazar started laughing in the background.

Gabe abruptly pulled away to go back in Sam’s shirt, weaseling his way out of it before raising his head again, outside the shirt. He smiled apologetically and pulled at Sam’s collar bone to see how much he stretched it. “Sorry..” He mumbled softly, leaning further into Sam’s comfortable chest.

Sam shook his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “How’re you feeling this morning?”

Gabe shrugged and stayed quiet, pressing himself into Sam as he tried to get back to sleep. 

“Are you just gonna let this happen?” Lucien laughed, taking a few pictures on his phone.

Sam shrugged a little. “I guess, he needs to rest anyway. Can’t just go jumping around on stage with a concussion.”

Lucien laughed and smiled, posting the picture on the band’s twitter page. “I guess that’s an excuse” Lucien mumbled and turned to Michael. “When do you think he’ll be okay again?” He asked with a frown.

Michael sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. I'd give it a month at the least? Just in case."

Lucien nodded and smiled at Gabe widely. “I’m just happy he’s okay..” He mumbled. “I know I keep saying, buts it’s unreal that we got this lucky..” Lucien mumbled. and turned his brothers. “Now nobody get sick! We’ve already used all the luck we’ve got so don’t go dying on us!”

Michael snorted and leaned against the table. “Same goes for you,” he stated.

“Goes for everyone,” Balthazar interjected.

“Just don’t fucking die” Lucien laughed, bending down to sit behind Gabe, rubbing over Gabe’s hair. “Hey Gabe, want those pancakes you were promised?” He grinned, watching his brother lay still next to Sam. “Gabe?” He asked softly, tone shifting to a panic. “Gabe?” He asked again, shaking his brother. “Gabe!” 

Gabe bolted up, looking up and around before looking at Lucien, noticing his brother’s terrified look. “What- what?” He asked softly, frowning at Lucien. 

Lucien sighed and wiped the tears from his eyes before feeling Gabe move to hug him around the neck. “..Stop scaring me”

“I’m sorry” Gabe laughed softly, closing his eyes against Lucien’s shoulder.

"I could still feel him breathing, he was okay," Sam said, letting out a yawn before looking up at Lucien.

"Let's not.. think about that," Michael sighed, walking over to pat Lucien's shoulder before heading to the bathroom. "Everyone's okay," he finished, then closed the door behind him.

Gabe laughed as he pulled away from Lucien and grinned. “But yes. I want my pancakes” He mumbled softly. 

“Anything for you” Lucien whispered, rubbing his head before standing up. “Now start getting up, it’s morning and you don’t need to sleep more than you already did yesterday” He mumbled, frowning at the memory.

Sam nodded silently in agreement, sitting up with Gabe and rubbing his face. "What are you guys gonna do since uh.. the show got.. cut short?" He ended his thought in more of a whisper, hesitance in his tone.

"Honestly?.. No idea," Balthazar sighed. "Maybe we should give out refunds.. or do a Q&A before we officially leave town."

Gabe frowned and shrugged a little. “We probably should just do both” Gabe mumbled. “I’d rather sit at a stage and answer questions instead of jump around” Gabe laughed.

“That’d be better for you, at least for a month like Michael said,” Sam agreed, bringing his knees closer to him to rest his arms on them.

“I said I would, leave me alone” Gabe smiled widely and shoved at Sam’s arm before frowning at him. “Hey, lemme in there” He complained, moving to sit on his knees.

Sam smiled a little and lowered his legs slightly to give him room. “I know you said you would, but still.”

“I will” Gabe grinned, moving to sit in Sam’s crossed legs, leaning into his arm. “But we could do a Sam exclusive QnA ya know?” He asked.

“I.. don’t know.. maybe,” Sam shrugged with an apologetic smile. “Maybe.”

“You don’t have to, Samkins” He mumbled and leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. 

“Hey, you want anything in these pancakes?” Lucien yelled from the kitchen. 

Gabe immediately pulled away, leaving Sam to trail after him. “Yeah- Can I get chocolate chips?” He asked with a childish grin.

"Me too!" Balthazar chimed, sitting up on the table with a grin.

"Don't use all of the syrup!" Michael huffed as he came out of the bathroom in clean clothes.

Sam laughed a little, standing up to follow after him with another yawn. "Nah, not hungry."

Gabe frowned and watched Lucien flip the pancakes before leaning back into Sam’s chest, taking Sam’s arms to wrap around himself. “What if I make you something?” He grinned. “Anything you like”

“I’ll be okay, but thanks,” Sam said, shaking his head before leaning forward to rest his chin on Gabe, closing his eyes.

Gabe smiled widely as he waited for Michael to put the second pancake on his plate. “Here you- hey you get your filthy hands off my brother before I smack with my spatula!” Lucien laughed, waving the utensil in the air.

Sam ignored him, merely hugging him tighter and planting his face into his hair.

Gabe jumped, glancing up before reaching for the pancakes on the table. 

Lucien’s face shifted from joking to annoyance quickly, pointing the spatula at Sam. “You just wait until I’m done with these pancakes” Lucien mumbled. 

Gabe glanced at Lucien before smiling up at Sam. “Run” He whispered, kissing his chin.

“Nah,” Sam snorted, turning his head to lay on his cheek instead with his eyes still closed.

Gabe laughed, glancing at his pancakes as he tried to reach for them again before giving up. He sighed, leaning back to at least feel the warmth of Sam’s chest. “We need a giant hoodie.. Like Uriel’s!” Gabe grinned widely, untangled himself quickly from Sam’s arms to run from the kitchen.

Sam jumped, blinking rapidly in confusion. “Wait, what?”

Gabe came back shortly with a hoodie about Sam’s size, but some extra stomach room. “My brother Uriel! He’s in the army and in the FBI” He mumbled. “I shouldn’t have told you that” He whispered before raising the hoodie up. “Put it on!”

Sam looked curiously at the hoodie before taking it and slipping it easily over his head. He moved his arms up and down, the extra room in the sleeves making it look baggy.

Gabe grinned widely at Sam, crouching down a little to crawl under the hoodie with him, facing away from Sam to poke his head out of the neck hole. He smiled and stood on his toes, falling back against Sam’s chest with a frown before looking up at Sam, slowly sinking to his feet until only his eyes and nose were in the hole.

Sam laughed a little. "Do you need help or are you comfortable?"

Gabe huffed from under the hoodie. “You can’t really help me- I’m kind of short” He mumbled, bouncing on his toes to make his hair graze Sam’s chin every few seconds.

Sam snorted and tilted his head down a little. "Your hair feels weird," he laughed, moving his arms around Gabe outside of the hoodie.

Gabe laughed as Sam tickled his sides a little. “I’m sorry?” He joked. “Is it soft at least?” He grinned.

"It is, yeah," Sam smiled, sighing against the top of his head.

Gabe grinned widely as he closed his eyes and bent back to his normal height so only his eyes and nose poked out. 

“Twitter loves you guys, ya know?” Lucien smirked, posting another picture.

"..How many pictures have you posted?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow without moving from his position.

Lucien looked up and frowned. “I always take an extra picture without your face in it, don’t worry” Lucien reassured. “I’ve only posted three. Do you wanna delete them?” He asked. 

“Do you wanna see them first?” Gabe asked, taking his phone out.

Sam shrugged, tilting his head to see them anyway. "You should send them to me."

Gabe paused in confusion before glancing back at Sam. “Really?” He asked softly before smiling, turning to Lucien. “Send em to me!” He smiled. 

Lucien shrugged and quickly sent them before putting his phone down and turning back. “What I turn around, you better have your hands off my baby brother” He announced.

Sam snorted with a shrug, relaxing and closing his eyes. "Maybe," he murmured, yawning once again.

Gabe laughed, putting his phone away so he could bring his arms into the hoodie. “You have no idea what you’re getting into” Gabe mumbled into the hoodie, taking one of Sam’s hands that was around him to play with the fingers.

“Hm?” Sam hummed. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Lucien asked, turning the stove off after he put another pancake onto a plate. 

“I didn’t wanna scare him” Gabe frowned, squeezing Sam’s hand anxiously. He grumbled a little before sinking further into the hoodie, his eyes peering down guiltily. 

“Don’t you think that’s the point?” Lucien laughed softly. 

Gabe frowned from behind the hoodie, staring at Lucien. “I’d prefer not to tell him some things” Gabe insisted. 

“Alright, well it’s all of our stories, so we could just tell him” Lucien suggested.  
“I.. should I be worried?” Sam asked as he opened his eyes again to look over at Lucien.

“Eh. Depends I guess,” Michael shrugged.

Gabe practically groaned as he let go of Sam and slid down until he was outside of the hoodie, crossing his arms after he stood up. “You shouldn’t be worried, but don’t be scared when I tell you my brothers could all seriously hurt you”

Sam stared at him for a moment before nodding. “I mean, I got that vibe from Lucien, kinda Michael too.”

“Well, it’d make sense since I was in the army for a while,” Michael said. “Balthazar took martial arts but he hardly ever does anything with it, not that he needs to.”

“And Lucien took wrestling, football and professional boxing after school. And Uriel’s in the FBI and often going to Germany and all that stuff so.. all of my brothers can just, generally hurt someone. And I can barely lift a backpack without being short of breath” Gabe shrugged gently.

“You’re barely out of high school Gabriel,” Michael pointed out. “But it’s not like we can legally hurt you. So I doubt you need to worry.”

“Unless you hurt my baby brother” Lucien glared. 

“Lucien..” Gabe whined softly. “Stop scaring him, he might leave me” He frowned deeply.

“Again, we can't really do anything,” Michael sighed, squinting at Lucien. “But anyway, you don’t have to be scared.”

“You don’t have to be, but you should” Lucien smirked. 

“Lucien!” Gabe snapped, glaring at his brother. “That’s enough!” He practically yelled before flinching, putting a hand on his head. “I’ve had enough of you trying-“

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop” Lucien blurted in a soft tone, placing a hand around Gabe’s lower back and the other over his head. 

Gabe frowned up at him before lowering his head onto Lucien’s chest to close his eyes.  
Sam nodded quickly in understanding. “Remind me not to get on your bad side I guess.. my dad was in the military before I was born, though.”

Lucien smiled a little and shrugged. “Michael went a little after high school” He glanced back down at Gabe and gently let him go to let him stand on his own. “Gabe used to love it when Michael would come home” He smiled at the memory, keeping his eyes on Gabe as he leaned against the chair. 

“Yeah.. and then he was home all the time and I just thought he got fired” He laughed, pausing to put a hand on his temple. 

Lucien frowned, taking a step forward to put a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “You okay?” He asked softly. Gabe nodded quickly, immediately regretting it as he came close to passing out again. Lucien luckily caught him within seconds, helping him to the ground to sit.

Sam jumped a little and dropped to the ground with him. “Gabe? Are you okay?” He asked, reaching for his shoulder hesitantly.

“I’m fine..” Gabe mumbled, taking his hands away to try and stand up. Lucien frowned at him, hovering over him to catch him if he fell again. As soon as he stood up, Lucien was helping him into the chair and letting him rest. “Thanks”

“Let’s avoid yelling.. and I guess laughing as well when you’re stressed” Lucien frowned at his brother.

Sam frowned and chewed at his lip as he stood. “Yeah.. let’s do that.”

Michael gently pushed Gabe’s plate toward him. “You should eat more. It’ll help.”

Gabe made a face and nodded, turning to slowly pick at his food before eating. He smiled after a while and looked up at Lucien. “Do we have grapes?”

“Yes, we have grapes” Lucien smiled, gently patting his hair before turning to the fridge.

“Good thing we stocked up on snacks,” Balthazar laughed, taking some more cereal from the cabinet and eating it straight from the box.

Gabe glanced up from the bowl of grapes to stare at the cereal box, raising his hand to beg silently for the box.

“No, you already stole my food,” Balthazar huffed with his mouth full, flipping him off before retreating to his bed with the box.

Gabe frowned and took his grapes to eat. “Damn.. guess I know who’s not gonna be at the funeral” He whispered.

“I’ll die first, and with this cereal box,” Balthazar snorted.

Gabe frowned at him before stabbing at his pancakes. “..I’m sorry” He whispered softly to Lucien. 

Lucien frowned and leaned over him, rubbing his shoulder. “For what?”

“For just.. sorry” He shrugged. “For being sick and not caring” He sighed, setting his fork down on the plate.

“It’s not your fault Gabe,” Sam said, frowning a little. “We’re just happy you’re safe and back with us.”

Gabe frowned, staring at his food before slowly standing up to walk out until he reached his bed, crawling up onto the mattress to lay down. Lucifer frowned deeply, glancing at Sam.

Sam winced a little and sighed, sitting back down at the table. “Think we can make it better?”

Lucien shook his head a little. “He’ll feel better in a couple of minutes. He just likes to be alone sometimes” Lucien explained. “Likes to rethink thinks and think of new things?” He shrugged, guessing.

“Makes sense,” Sam nodded, drumming his fingers on the table in thought.

Lucien watched his brother from the kitchen before smiling. “Can you do me a favor and go cuddle him? I usually would, but I don’t know if he’ll want me to touch him” Lucien mumbled.

Sam looked up at him in surprise. “Uh.. Yeah, yeah, I can do that.” He got up from his chair and slowly made his way toward Gabe, settling down on the blankets with him.

Gabe flinched as the mattress dipped before he looked up to stare at Sam. He frowned, moving over to give him some room before putting his head back down. Sam moved in as much as he could, then laid down quietly.

Gabe flicked his eyes up to stare at Sam before looking back between them. He breathed in deeply before slowly letting it go. He chewed the inside of his cheek before shifted to lift the hoodie up and crawl inside, burying his face into Sam’s neck. He sighed softly, smiling against Sam’s neck before settling to try and sleep again. Sam smiled a little and put one arm around him. He rested his chin against Gabe’s head and soon fell asleep after him.


	14. Chapter 14

This was it. This was the night Gabe was going to propose. It’d been three months since he’d fallen on stage and Gabe and Sam has only grown closer. He eventually confessed to Lucien and Balthazar his idea and they both cheered him on. Some reluctant to the other. He glanced at Sam as he came up to him backstage, smiling widely at him. “Hey Samkins, can we talk?” He asked widely. 

“One minute Gabe!” Lucien called out to him. 

“In a sec!” Gabe called back, looking back to Sam.

Sam looked back at him, pausing before nodding slowly. “What’s up?”

“I uh..” Gabe cleared his throat and frowned a little, nervously tapping on his guitar with his nails. “Wow, I didn’t think I’d be this nervous” He laughed softly.

Sam tilted his head in confusion. “Are you alright?”

“Yes! I’m fine, I’m better than fine, I just.. really love you, you know? And I..” Gabe paused with a wide smile. “I was wondering if you would uh..” He whispered, stopping as Lucien came up to take his brother’s wrist. 

“We gotta go- talk in a few hours” Lucien frowned at them before he began pulling at Gabe’s arm. 

“I- uh, I’ll talk to you after the show!” He called out, running with Lucien to the front stage.

Sam pulled a hesitant smile onto his face and waved, then stepped back a little with a sigh, rubbing his face in his hands as he walked back further to find a place to sit.

Gabe came back with his brothers after the show, smiling and laughing. Gabe quickly gave his guitar to Lucien and ran up to Sam’s side, smiling down at him. “Hey- can we talk now?” He grinned widely.

Sam jolted and looked up at him, nodding once he’d partially relaxed. “I think.. yeah. Can we go somewhere more private? It’s kinda loud out here.”

“Yeah, let’s go back backstage” He smiled, taking ahold of Sam’s hand to lead him down the stairs to the gravel parking lot where everything was much duller. “Why do we need privacy though?” Gabe asked, smile finally faltering into a curious look.

“I just.. um..” Sam took in a short breath and winced a little to himself as he spoke again. “I.. it’s not like I don’t love you, I do, it’s just.. a lot’s happened lately, you know? People running up and yelling in my face, others being rude, which, I can deal with. Then you got sick and fell on stage and I just.. a lot got dragged up for me,” he rambled, never once making direct eye contact.

Gabe’s smile dropped as he stared up at Sam with wide and hurt eyes. He felt the first twinge of panic hit, making him feel sick. “..So..” He whispered, feeling tears well up in his eyes. “..That’s it?” He asked softly, the anxiety showing painfully in his voice. “We’re..” He whispered brokenly, lip trembling.

Sam swallowed thickly and nodded, glancing over to look at him and immediately regretting it when he saw his face. “I..” He started, then let himself trail off with another nod.

Gabe began slowly hyperventilating, tears streaming down his face. “..Oh” He laughed softly, feeling tears pour out of his eyes as he looked down finally. “..Okay” He laughed and smiled widely at Sam before turning in the direction of the tour bus. He saw his brothers in the window, unable to keep smiling. He hesitated, staring blankly at the door handle. He couldn’t turn back to face Sam. His face would only hurt him more.

Michael glanced out at him, smiling for a second before frowning when he noticed his expression. He pulled open the door, finally noticing Sam a good distance away from the bus, then looked back down at Gabe. “Did he not.. did you ask him?”

As soon as he opened the door Gabe looked up at him and hugged him tightly. He refused to sob as he trembled in his brother’s chest. As soon as he was composed enough and closed the door he was sobbing loudly, unable to even breathe correctly as he just sobbed.

Lucien dropped his drum bag forcefully and ran to his screaming brother, panic setting in as he saw Gabe crying. “Hey- hey” Lucien whispered softly, stroking his hair as Gabe refused to let go of Michael. Lucien looked at Michael and scratched through Gabe’s scalp. “Gabe, it’s okay if he said no-“

“I-I .. I di- I didn’t.. ask” Gabe sobbed out, his face burning with agony as he sobbed, unable to even breath correctly, leading to him gasping for breath. 

“You didn’t get to ask?” Lucien frowned, holding his hair to play with. “Then why are you crying?” Lucien asked softly.

“He-“ Gabe started before squeezing Michael’s torso. “.. He- He dumped me!” Gabe screamed into Michael’s chest. 

Lucien’s eyes widened in shock, staring at his brother’s messed up hair in horror. “..Gabe” He whispered softly, looking up at Michael.

Michael tensed, staring down at Gabe with a shocked expression on his father, which slowly turned into an angry one. “Lucien, take him for me, would you?” He deadpanned, hardly phrasing it as a question.

Lucien frowned and gently took his brother, letting him slide to the ground. “Come here Gabe, it’s okay, it’s okay” He whispered, rubbing Gabe’s back as he led him to the bed him and Sam had shared. 

“No!” Gabe screamed, kicked at the air mattress, kicking Lucien once or twice as he kicked his legs. 

“Okay- okay, come on, wanna sit on Michael’s bed?” Lucien whispered, looking down at Balthazar with a frown, slowly shaking his head as he held Gabe closely.

Balthazar stared with wide eyes, unsure of what to do before moving over. “Here, just- just sit him here,” he said insistently. “What’s um.. what’s Michael doing?”

Lucien glanced out the window to stare at Michael. “I don’t know” He mumbled, rubbing Gabe’s head as he sobbed loudly. Lucien quickly hushed him, petting his head so he could stare at Michael. “..I don’t know” He whispered.

Michael had stormed outside the minute Gabe had gone with Lucien, fuming inside but eerily calm outward. Sam glanced at him in confusion as he approached, taking a hesitant step back.

“Wha-“ His words were cut off as Michael pulled back and threw his fist against his head.

“What the hell is wrong with you Winchester?!” he yelled, anger finally showing through as he glared. “You think you can come up here, spend all this time with my little brother and making him think everything’s fine, then turn around and pull this shit?!”

“I-“

“Shut the hell up! You don’t get to defend yourself! You’ve already made it perfectly clear how you feel, Sam.” He took in a deep breath, attempting to calm himself down. “I hope to God your brother pities you more than I do, or you’ll be stuck in this fucking town for a while.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked stiffly back to the bus.

Lucien bit his lip, trying not to wince as he covered Gabe’s eyes and hugged him closer to his chest. “..Easy Gabe, deep breaths” He whispered, breathing in and out with his brother slowly. Gabe watched Lucien anxiously, unable to control his breathing as he cried. He slowed down to try and breathe before going back to sobbing. Gabe gasped for breath, choking himself for a few seconds before calming enough to swallow. “Hey Bal, could you get me a cup of water in Gabe’s favorite cup? You know, the green mug?” He mumbled, gently trying to get Gabe off before realizing Gabe wouldn’t allow that. He let Gabe cling to him and bury his face into Lucien’s neck, coughing and crying all over him.

Balthazar nodded, quietly standing up and doing as he was told.

Michael walked back in, grabbed Sam’s things, and tossed them out the door before shutting it behind him, rubbing the soreness from his hand. “How’s he doing?”

Lucien frowned and shrugged a little, rubbing Gabe’s shaking shoulder. “How’re you feeling, Gabe?” He asked softly. 

Gabe backed up and sighed softly, tears falling silently as he stared at Lucien’s neck. “..I wanna go home” He whispered, reaching up to scratch at the tears on his face. “..I want Cas” He whispered. 

“Alright, we can get you Cas” Lucien whispered, glancing at Michael’s hand. “Balthazar” He called out, trying to be quiet. “Bring an ice pack too”

Gabe looked up at him curiously, turning to look at Michael with confusion. “W-why?” Gabe mumbled, sniffling as he finally seemed to be calming down. 

“Don’t worry about it” Lucien hushed him and patted over his head before pulling Gabe against his chest again, playing with the hair.

Balthazar glanced at him in confusion. “Ice pack?” he said, then looked over at Michael’s hand and nodded. “Right.. ice pack.”

“I’ll be fine,” Michael huffed. “Let’s just get going.”

Lucien nodded and shifted Gabe to Michael, glancing out at Sam one last time before going to their bus driver, getting them ready to go. He came back to find Gabe pressing the ice pack to Michael’s knuckle. He smiled and walked over to whisper. “I’m gonna call Cas and make sure he’s ready for us at our place, okay?” He whispered, rubbing Gabe’s hair before taking his phone to call Cas.

The phone rung a few times before Cas picked up. “Hello?” he said, sounding a little tired. “Is your show over?”

Lucien sighed softly as he walked away from his brothers to the kitchen to whisper. “..Look” He whispered. “Just get a bunch of blankets and food set up at our place.. Put a movie on” He frowned and whispered in a softer tone. “And tell Dean to come and get Sam.. he’s not riding with us band because..” He cleared his throat and sighed. “Sam broke up with Gabe”

There was silence on Cas’ end for an almost uncomfortable amount of time. “What?” He finally got out, voice going quieter as he pulled the phone from his face. “Dean!”

Dean grumbled from the couch and rubbed his face. “I know- I know, I’m sorry I fell asleep” He mumbled and stood up to frown at Cas. “Who are you talking to?” He asked.

“Lucien. Did Sam ever tell you he wanted to break up with my brother?”

Dean’s eyes widened with shock as he shook his head. “No.. Every time we talked he loved Gabe” He frowned. “Why? What happened?”

“He said he broke up with him,” Cas told him, gesturing to his phone. “I think you might.. need to pick him up.”

Dean stared with a confused look before rushing to stand up and get his shoes on. “I’ll be back soon” Dean called out in a rush, calling Sam as he left. 

Lucien frowned and sighed softly. “I’m really sorry Cas.. I didn’t see this coming at all” He mumbled with a frown.

“I didn’t either,” Cas sighed, rubbing his face. “Dean’ll be a few hours, but I guess so will you.. I’ll be ready when you get here.”

Sam was sitting on the ground, holding his hand over his face, when his phone went off. He stared at Dean’s name on the screen before answering. “Hey,” he mumbled.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Dean snapped at him. “I can’t believe you right now. All the times you promised to never hurt this kid- and you break his heart because why? Why Sam?!” He angrily asked, starting his car and buckling in. “Please, tell me what the fuck your plan was” Dean sighed heavily.

Sam winced and pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them with one arm. “.. I know,” he said softly after a moment. “I didn’t want to, not really.. everything just built up.”

“You didn’t want to?” Dean scoffed and shook his head. “Then why did you?” He muttered. “If you really wanted to stay with Gabe, and not hurt him- then why would you leave him?” Dean asked in a bit of a softer tone.

Sam let out a huff, mostly toward himself, and shrugged before leaning forward to rest his chin on his knee. “Annoying fans are one thing, but that’s all they were really, just annoying. It was more after he collapsed on stage that got me thinking.. about a lot. Like.. if I stayed and got closer and then something happened.”

Dean frowned and glared at the road. “..You broke up with him. Because he got ill. So you wanted to get out of there.. before something worse happened- not because you didn’t care about him. But because you didn’t want to put in the effort..” Dean sighed and shook his head. “I’m gonna be at where the concert was in a few hours. And when you get in my car, you don’t say a goddamn word to me, you hear me? You’ve done enough damage for one day” Dean decided before hanging up, throwing his phone in the seat next to him. 

He huffed, driving his way for the next few hours until he finally found where the concert was being torn down at. He could see where Sam was sitting on one of the front benches, holding his face. Dean shook his head and honked his horn as he pulled up, slowing to a stop.

Sam flinched, hardly looking up at him as he stood and grabbed his things, tossing them into the backseat before climbing into the passenger side.

Dean silently backed up and turned around in his spot, looking at his phone to see the messages Cas was sending him. His brothers were just a couple of minutes away from being home. “..What’d ya get the black eyes from?” Dean asked, refusing to even look at his brother.

"Michael," Sam mumbled as he stared out of his window, absentmindedly rubbing at the bruise.

Dean nodded softly, taking into account to talk to Michael when they got home. He shook his head and called Cas, holding the phone up to his ear to wait.

"Hello Dean," Cas greeted softly, going quiet for a moment as he moved around. "Did you get your brother?"

“Yeah, I got him” He mumbled softly. “Are your brothers there yet?” He frowned.

"Almost, I-" Cas cut himself off as the front door opened. "Okay, um, yes."

Lucien smiled at Michael for opening the door for him, carrying a very quiet and upset Gabe in his arms. “Hey,” He whispered to Cas, setting Gabe down on his favorite blanket. “Gabe, let go” He whispered. 

“..I don’t want to” Gabe complained, tears still streaming down his face after hours of sobbing. 

“Hey, Cas is here” Lucien smiled widely. “Do you mind taking him for a sec while I go get changed and wipe off my face?” Lucien whispered, helping Gabe wrap himself up in the giant blanket.

Cas nodded, helping to get Gabe off of Lucien and guiding him to the couch to lay down. "Sorry, I had to help them for a second," he sighed into the phone a little later. "Are you on your way from Detroit or are you stopping somewhere to sleep?"

“I’m driving back immediately. I’m gonna drop Sam off at his place and then either go back to our place or meet you there, but it’ll be really late by the time we get there” He frowned. “So I’ll more than likely be at our place” Dean explained.

"That's okay, I want you resting when you get home," Cas told him, putting extra emphasis on 'resting'. "I'll be here whenever you get back."

“I’ll try to remember to call but I might be sleeping” Dean whispered. “I’m uh.. not gonna say I love you with the little guy there” He whispered extra quietly. “Don’t wanna hurt him.. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Gabe frowned, moving closer to Cas so he could lay his head on Cas’s thigh, burying most of his face into the blanket.

"Alright.. be safe," Cas sighed, rubbing Gabe's shoulder soothingly.

Gabe shifted a little and pressed his face into Cas’ leg. “..I was gonna ask him to marry me tonight” Gabe whispered, a pain pulling in his chest as he laid still and quiet. 

Lucien’s eyes widened in horror at his brother’s words. He pressed his lips together and walked around the couch, carefully sitting on the floor in front of Gabe. “It’s okay..” Lucien whispered softly, brushing his baby brother’s hairs back from sticking to his face. “It’s okay to be upset” He mumbled, rubbing the tears from Gabe’s eyes. “You wanna cuddle with us and watch a movie?” He asked with a smile. 

Gabe stayed still and shook his head. “..I wanna watch looney tunes” He whispered, letting more tears fall from his eyes. 

“We can do that for you” Lucien nodded and stood up to turn on the TV. “You have to sit up and watch the TV though. You’re not allowed to lay down”

“Alright,” Gabe sighed and carefully shifted so he was sitting up with the blanket wrapped loosely around him.

Michael sat back in the chair with a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Tonight's been.. stressful."

"I'd imagine," Cas frowned, then noticed his knuckles. "What happened to your hand?"

"Huh?" Michael turned to see his bruised knuckles as if he'd forgotten they were there. "Oh. I kinda.. punched him," he finished under his breath.

Cas squinted at him as though he hadn't heard him right. "You.. punched him?" He shook his head. "I suppose I expected something. Though, I expected Lucien."

Gabe frowned at the thought of his Sam’s cute little face bruised to hell by his own doing. Just thinking about it made him start another fresh batch of tears, crying into his knees.

Lucien winced at this and rushed over to stop Gabe’s crying, holding his face up. “Hey, don’t-“

“It’s all my fault!” Gabe blurted, the blanket falling off of him. “I just knew it wouldn’t last!” He screamed, holding his eyes shut as he sobbed. 

“Gabe, don’t say thin-“

“I’m not even good enough for Sam- I-“ Gabe sobbed, rubbing at his eyes. “I’m never gonna find the one, Lu..” He whined lowly before hyperventilating again. “He hates me..” He whispered, letting tears fall into his knees. 

“Gabe..” Lucien frowned, looking to his brothers for help.

Balthazar looked around helplessly with him, biting his lip before cautiously approaching. "Gabe.. come on. Everything's gonna be alright, okay? We just need to give it some time.."

"I've known Sam since before you met him. I don't know what he must have been thinking, but he has been known to go for rushed decisions," Cas said softly, shrugging a little before letting his shoulders droop. "In any case, Dean's on his way back. If he got anything out of him, we'll know tomorrow night at the soonest."

Michael huffed. "I don't particularly care for his side of it, honestly," he muttered.

"Yeah, well, tough. Because I want to know what the hell is going on," Balthazar snapped at him.

Gabe frowned at his siblings fighting. “I knew I shouldn’t have dated him.. If I knew you all would’ve fought each other and him then I would’ve just stayed friends” He sighed, tears falling from his eyes before looking at Cas. “Look. I know I’m not doing the best right now.. but the last thing I want you to tell me is that Sam still loves me and that it was just a big misunderstanding that’s gonna work itself out and we’re gonna be happy. I know I’m the youngest, but I’m not a child” He snapped, standing up to look down at Cas. “I especially know the last thing I need right now is Sam to comfort me!” He screamed angrily, his head pounding behind his blurred vision. As soon as he felt light-headed, he realized it wasn’t just the headache from crying. He stumbled back, face contorting to a soft daze as he fell backward.

Michael gasped jumped up from the chair and rushed forward to catch him, stumbling to his knees with Gabe in his arms. "Shit- Gabe? Hey." He shook his shoulders gently, edging back a little as his brothers moved to try and help.

Gabe made a strange whining sound as he slowly opened his eyes before letting out a soft sigh. “..Sorry” He mumbled out softly, reaching up to rub at his temples. “I’m sorry”

“Don’t be sorry” Lucien quickly reassured him and sighed in relief. “Alright. We’ll stop arguing. We’ll watch some looney tunes and sleep, and we’ll do anything you like” Lucien whispered, brushing tears from Gabe’s face before quickly standing up to flip through the channels. 

Gabe frowned but watched him go, shifting his legs up so he could stand up, almost tripping over himself as he awkwardly sat back on the carpet.

Cas sighed softly as he sat back on the couch, Balthazar joining him and Michael returning to the chair. "Relaxing sounds nice, hm?"

Gabe watched his brothers anxiously before nodding softly. “Alright,” He mumbled and shifted up to sit on the couch again. Lucien smiled and came over to wrap him up again, holding him close to his chest. Gabe shifted to lay his face against Lucien’s chest, easily relaxing as he stared at the TV, Sam’s face only haunting him faintly. He closed his eyes and let them open and flutter, trying to stay awake to watch his favorite cartoons.

Cas glanced at him with a small frown, returning his eyes to the TV without really paying attention to it.

Balthazar leaned onto Lucien, almost falling asleep before blinking quickly and sitting up. "What time is it?" he mumbled.

“About one in the morning” Lucien whispered softly, stroking through Gabe’s hair. “I know, I’m tired too” He whispered, setting his phone down.

Balthazar grunted in agreement, standing from the couch and stretching quickly. "Well, dunno about you guys, but I'm going to bed.

Lucien nodded and waved him off, looking at Cas and Michael at his sides. “You guys can go too, I’ve got him” He mumbled softly, petting Gabe’s hair again, listening to him snore peacefully.

Michael nodded, barely opening his eyes to wander to his room while Balthazar did the same. Cas hummed a little as he stood. "Um.. I might head home. I'll be back sometime tomorrow."

“No-“ Lucien frowned, reaching out to take ahold of his wrist. “I-“ Lucien stopped and frowned, feeling a little embarrassed. “Please don’t. It’s so dark out and..” He bit his lip, squeezing Cas’ wrist a little. “I need to know you’re safe tonight. Please take my bed” He mumbled. “Or make Balthazar switch if you don’t like the snakes just.. Please don’t leave this late” He frowned.

Cas blinked rapidly, looking outside at the darkness before letting out a small smile. "Okay," he sighed, gently tugging his wrist away. "But I'm heading back in the morning, okay? When it's light. If that'll make you feel better."

“Perfect with me” Lucien nodded and waved gently to him. “Goodnight, Cas” He mumbled, placing his hand on Gabe’s shoulder before dozing off himself, snoring after a few seconds.

Cas tipped his head towards him before heading off down the hall and into one of the unoccupied bedrooms to sleep.

Gabe woke in the morning, feeling as if his head had been put through a bowling ball machine. He reached up to rub his migraine before yawning, realizing he was still in Lucien’s lap. “Sorry” He mumbled sleepily, shifting to try and get off the sleeping man’s lap. He smelled something cooking and shifted to smell the air. grinning widely. Smells amazing” He whispered still sleepily.

Balthazar poked his head out into the living room, then smiled a little. "Welcome to the waking world. Michael's making breakfast. We've got bacon and eggs and sausage."

Lucien smiled a little and glanced behind him before putting a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Hungry?” He smiled widely. 

Gabe frowned and gently shook his head. “My head hurts too much” He whispered softly before carefully laying his head on the couch. 

Lucien frowned at him before nodding. He gently stroked his hair before standing up to walk to the kitchen, glancing around for Cas. “Where’s Cas?” He asked softly.

“Dunno, I haven’t seen him yet,” Michael shrugged. “So either, still asleep, or he left.”

“I’m go..” He mumbled softly and moved behind Michael quickly to go and check in his room. 

Gabe shifted to sit up, staring at his brothers from where he was leaning, his face pressed against the couch.

Cas was sleeping on his stomach, sprawled out on the bed and having kicked the blankets on the floor. He twitched a little as Lucien came into the room but didn’t wake.

Lucien smiled widely and came up to carefully cover him back up before walking back to the door, closing it gently behind him. He came back to Gabe’s side, letting Gabe lean on him when he sat down. “He’s still asleep” Lucien smiled, rubbing Gabe’s hair. 

“..Can we get Uriel to come home?” Gabe asked with a frown. 

“Uh..” Lucien frowned. “We can try” He whispered, rubbing his head again. “First, let’s get you some food and medicine for your headache”

Michael gestured to the plates as he stepped back from the stove. “Just in time, everything’s done. Take whatever you want,” he said, doing the same for himself before heading to the living room to eat.

Gabe shook his head and moved to lay back down. “Gabe-“ Lucien quickly stopped him and forced him to sit up. “It’s unhealthy to stay like this. Eat something and take some medicine and then we’ll call Uriel and if he comes, then you can go back to this funk. But you’ve got to try and get better” He whispered, stroking through Gabe’s messy hair. 

Gabe shook his head and pressed himself into Lucien’s chest more. 

“..Your breakfast could get cold. And it looks like Michael made the sweet sausage with brown sugar”

Gabe made a noise in his throat before sighing heavily and sitting up. “..Can I get some?” He asked with a small smile. 

“It’s your food” Lucien grinned widely. 

Gabe smiled and moved to get up slowly before bolting into the kitchen.

Balthazar came in with his plate, sitting on the couch. “I don’t know if Uriel can even come. He can’t exactly just leave, you know?” he sighed.

“Still worth a shot. Besides, if anything, he can talk on the phone. Probably,” Michael pointed out with a small shrug. “I just hope he starts feeling better.”

“Me too” Lucien whispered, watching Gabe take the whole plate of sausages back to the couch with him. He sat down with the plate on his crossed legs and began to eat one at a time, watching the cartoons peacefully. Lucien grinned and stood up with his phone, walking off to call Uriel. 

He eventually picked up after a few seconds and cleared his throat. “Lucien? Why are you calling? You know you should only call for emergencies” He scolded. 

Lucien sighed and frowned. He loved his older brother, even if he was adopted. “I know- it’s Gabe-“

“Did he get hospitalized again?” Uriel quickly asked, fear in his voice. 

“No- no.. Sam broke up with him” Lucien whispered from the hallway. “He’s not taking it well at all and won’t stop crying. He just now stopped this morning and he’s having fainting spells from the stress again.. We had to end the tour early” He mumbled, rubbing his neck. “He.. can’t stand some of the things Sam did. Like certain spots on the couch and he doesn’t wanna go into his bedroom or on the bed they shared in the tour bus. He doesn’t even wanna wear your black hoodie anymore”

“Really?” Uriel whispered softly before humming. “..I’ll see what I can do” He decided on. “But I need to go now” He smiled. “I’ll hopefully see you tomorrow at the earliest”

“Thanks, Uriel” He whispered and hung up, coming back to the living to find Gabe content, eating and still watching TV. “Uriel said he’d see what he can do” He smiled widely, glancing at Cas getting breakfast. “Oh you’re awake” He smiled.

Cas nodded, getting himself extra eggs. “There’s no sausage,” he deadpanned as he rubbed his eyes.

“Gabe doesn’t have to share” Lucien declared, propping his head up on his hand, elbow on the back of the couch. “If Gabe will only eat an entire plate of sausage, then I’ll count it as a win” Lucien mumbled. 

“It’s good though” Gabe mumbled, only having a few left.

“Fair enough,” Cas shrugged, bringing his plate in to sit with his brothers.

“Are you staying for a while then?” Michael asked.

“Just until I finish eating. I want to head home and see if Dean’s back yet.”

Gabe glanced at Cas and stared at the ground before lowering his head to his knees, pushing the food around with his fork until he got bored of it. “..I don’t feel good” Gabe whispered. 

“It’s okay, you probably ate too much on an upset stomach” Lucien smiled, rubbing his shoulder. “It’ll feel better soon” He mumbled, not talking about his stomach ache.

“Maybe you should drink some water,” Balthazar suggested with a frown. “You might be dehydrated.”

Gabe decided to shake his head a little. “..Maybe it was a bad idea to eat. I might just throw it up” He sighed softly, rubbing over his stomach.

“And then you’ll be more dehydrated,” Balthazar huffed quietly, poking at his own food.

“Don’t eat any more for a bit,” Michael said decidedly. “Just snacks you can handle.”

“..Can I have grapes?” He mumbled. 

“They’re mostly water so yeah, I’ll go get your grapes” Lucien grinned, moving to stand up and walk to the kitchen. 

“They’re not water, they’re grape juice” Gabe mumbled to himself.

“They’re- they’re not water,” Cas echoed Gabe, squinting at Lucien in confusion.

“Just let him pretend” Gabe mumbled with a small smile, quickly fading as he glanced at his phone to see messages from Sam. His face scrunched into confusion as he carefully flipped his phone over to hide the messages, sighing softly.

Cas frowned a little, tilting his head. “Something wrong?”

Gabe opened his mouth before shaking his head a little. “..Yeah” He mumbled. “There is” He whispered, turning to smile at Lucien as he got his bowl of grapes, immediately eating the mix of purple and green grapes.

Cas sighed a little as he picked up his empty plate to take to the kitchen, then came back out with everyone else. “I think I’ll head home. Call me if you need anything.”

“Bye, Cas” Gabe grinned and waved a little before sighing softly, scratching his head as he stared at his phone. He shook his head as he watched Cas leave before he grew frustrated, shoving his phone off the couch with an angry growl.

Balthazar blinked in confusion. “What was that about?”

Gabe glared at his phone as tears began forming in his eyes again. His anger subdued to sadness as he stared pitifully at his phone. He sighed and reached down to pick it up, seeing more messages from Sam. Lucien frowned deeply and looked over his shoulder with a scowl. “..Why is he texting you?” Lucien muttered. 

Gabe shrugged as he leaned back on the couch, quietly eating his grapes. “..I don’t know” He whispered softly, tossing his phone aside to start peeling the skin off of a grape.

“Want me to go ask him?” Michael asked.

“If any of us do, I don’t think it should be you,” Balthazar scoffed.

“Why not?”

“You punched him in the face, Mike.”

“..Maybe I want Michael to ask him” Gabe mumbled softly, breaking apart the grape.

Lucien frowned and glanced at Michael for a second. “Do you want us to talk to Sam?” He asked softly. 

“..I don’t know” Gabe whispered, picking up his phone to see another message, asking to call him. Gabe huffed and opened his phone to reply, waiting for the call. He picked it up after a few seconds of ringing and paused, throwing the phone at Lucien. “I can’t-“ He blurted, panicked and hyperventilating. 

Lucien carefully took the phone to press to his ear, pausing for a second before huffing. “What do you want?” He asked.

Sam paused, not expecting his voice. “I just.. wanted to talk to him.”

“You’ve talked to him enough” Lucien snapped, glancing at his panicked brother before reaching out to pet his head. “..I don’t think you should call anymore” Lucien mumbled, tucking hair behind Gabe’s ear.

“I- I understand, I just..” Sam trailed off for a moment. “I doubted you’d let me in, not that I’d blame you.”

“You’re damn right” Lucien muttered softly, leaning Gabe up to lean against Michael for a second. “Don’t call again. For your own safety.. Our older brother is coming over and believe me, you don’t want to let him find out” Lucien muttered and glared at the floor.

“.. Right. Right,” Sam mumbled. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“..You should be” Lucien whispered before standing up abruptly to walk into the hallway, glancing at the door before snapping. “Alright Winchester, what the fuck is going on with you?” He growled. “You’ve fucked up my brother so much already- and then you want to talk to him again like nothing’s happened?” He scoffed. “You better have good reasoning for this shit or you’re gonna have another black eye”

Sam sighed a little, hesitating before he replied. “I don’t want to watch someone else I love die. It’s pretty much all I’ve been thinking about since we had to take him to the hospital. I’ve hardly slept through the night for months and I stupidly thought that maybe if I left then maybe he’d be okay.”

“Yeah, well thanks to you my brother’s practically traumatized and will barely eat anymore. I just now got him to eat this morning and you know how much he’s eaten? Not a lot. Do you know how much he’s slept since you broke his heart? Barely any. I’ve woken up more times to him screaming and crying than I have anyone else. So I hope you’re happy” Lucien whispered, tears forming in his eyes. “I hope you’re happy that you left someone when they were the happiest person in the world at that time. Because you didn’t wanna watch him die.. Thanks, Sam, but none of us want to watch him die. We at least stuck through it and helped him. You just took the cowards way out. Like the night Gabe was going to propose to you. All you did was run..” Lucien mumbled.

“I-.. Wait.. what?” Sam’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Oh God..”

Lucien had to laugh at him before sighing softly. “..Good job Sam. Good fucking job”

“I did what I thought would be best for both of us,” Sam snapped suddenly. “How exactly was I supposed to know about a proposal?”

“Maybe if you’d opened your fucking eyes to see how much my brother loved you, then you would’ve seen that!” Lucien snapped back harshly.

“Well, shockingly, I didn’t think to find out about the secret proposal!” Sam retorted sarcastically. “And maybe I should’ve explained things differently, without breaking up, and maybe he could’ve helped, but I didn’t, because I was scared and panicked. And I’m sorry.”

Lucien huffed and frowned. “..If I give you another chance. One, and only one fucking chance. And Gabe agrees.. maybe we can work this out. But only because I know Gabe misses you. Not because I like you, but because I want Gabe to get better” Lucien sighed softly. “But so help me if you hurt him again.. You’ll be leaving with more than a black eye” He muttered.

“Got it,” Sam muttered after taking a breath to try and calm himself.

“..But when you tell me you’re not going to hurt him this time, you better now” Lucien warned again. “Because I actually care about him” Lucien mumbled with a frown, completely unhostile.

“So do I,” Sam sighed, a little more under his breath. “I’m not hurting him again.”

“You said that last time” Lucien muttered, glaring at the floor.

“I said I didn’t want to, and I didn’t want to,” Sam reiterated.

“You said you wouldn’t. I’m not dumb, I’ve heard you say it. Don’t argue with me if you want to come back here” He snapped.

Sam huffed. “Fine. What do you want to do?”

“Right now I wanna throat punch you and stomp on your face, but I also want Gabe to be happy so I guess I’m gonna talk to him and talk to him about this” Lucien mumbled.

“Right.” Sam sighed harshly to himself. “Tell him whatever you need to.”

Lucien went quiet before shaking his head. “I’ll see what I can do” He settled on and hung up, leaning his head against the wall in their hallway once he was done. He groaned and opened their door again to see Gabe smiling and laughing at the TV. Lucien frowned, knowing this was going to hurt both of them. “Hey, buddy” Lucien whispered softly, carefully walking over to sit with Gabe. 

Gabe frowned knowingly and looked up at Lucien. “What uh.. what did he say?” He asked softly. 

“Well. He’s very sorry” Lucien nodded a little. “And he’s beating himself up about it and is getting mad at himself. You know, he’s just really upset too” Lucien shrugged a little, setting Gabe’s phone on the table.

Gabe hummed a little and stared at the coffee table with a frown. “..So he feels bad?” Gabe asked. 

“He feels a little more than bad. And he should” Lucien mumbled and smiled, rubbing Gabe’s shoulder. “He just.. didn’t want you getting hurt by him. I’m not sure how to explain it. I think it’d be best to talk to him yourself over”

“What?!” Gabe asked, horrified. “No-no, I.. No, I-“ Gabe stuttered, frantically moving his hands. “I just can’t!” He frowned, looking away. “I can’t face him.. not after..” Gabe trailed off, rubbing his knees. “I can’t” He whispered.

Michael listened in to the conversation, frowning. “Gabe.. as much as I’m pissed at him, it might be best to talk things over,” he suggested softly. “I know it’ll be hard, but it might be for the best.”

Gabe frowned and immediately declined the idea. “Not happening” Gabe muttered. 

“Gabe, I think it’ll help you some” Lucien smiled. “Please?”

“Can I smack him across the face?” Gabe asked softly, looking at Michael. 

Lucien shrugged and stared at his brother. “I mean.. if you think he deserves it, I say yes, but Gabe you need to think rationally”

“I am- and I rationally think he deserves to be drop-kicked” Gabe pouted.

Michael sighed and shrugged. “Well, I’m not disagreeing per se,” he mumbled. “But seriously. You two need to talk things out.”

“I’m gonna call him again.. and tell him he can start coming over, okay?” Lucien smiled, taking out his phone. 

“What?!” Gabe frowned and reached for his phone. “Lucien don’t- I-“ He frowned, watching Lucien stand up. 

“Gabe, you need to talk to him, and this is the way to do it” Lucien held the phone up to his ear and waited. 

“You’re just gonna leave him alone with me?” Gabe whined. 

“As if, I’ll be in the kitchen watching you” Lucien promised, pushing his hand away. 

“Lucien don’t!” Gabe cried, smiling a little as he reached up for the phone. 

Lucien shook his head and held him down, waiting for Sam to pick up.

“Um- hello?” Sam answered a moment later. “Is this.. is this Lucien or Gabe?”

“It’s-“

“Lucien, give me my phone!” Gabe cried. 

“What he said” Lucien mumbled, patting his brother’s head. “You’re good to come over, Gabe agreed”

“I-“ Gabe began before Lucien pinched his cheek. 

“You’re good to come over whenever you like” Lucien grinned.

“Oh, um, okay just- just give me a few minutes,” Sam agreed. “I’ll be on my way.”

“Just knock and we’ll be there” Lucien mumbled, shivering when Gabe licked across his hand. Lucien hung and dropped the phone on the couch to gag. “You’re so gross!” He laughed. 

“And you’re inviting my ex here!”

“Stating the obvious I see” Lucien mumbled softly.

“Gabe, this could help you. Please just try and talk to him?” Michael pleaded with a huff.

Gabe frowned and jerked his phone from Lucien’s hand. “I’m not talking to him. He made it very clear that he didn’t want to be with me! I don’t need him to tell me face to face so I can hear it again” Gabe snapped, head throbbing in pain as he yelled.

“Calm down,” Michael ordered softly. “I know. I’m pissed at him too, I can’t imagine how you feel. But you heard Lu.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Gabe snapped, glaring down Michael. “You don’t know what it feels like to be holding a ring for someone and as soon as they see you they say they’re done with you!” He snapped, feeling as if he was going to throw up. He took in a shuddering breath before whispering. “You don’t know what it feels like to have the life of your life leave because they don’t want to put up with you when you’re sick”

“No. I don’t,” Michael agreed bluntly. “And I’m not going to say that I wouldn’t have your same reaction if it happened to me, I’m just saying you should. He’ll be here soon anyhow, and I’m going to my room to avoid socking him again.”

Gabe shook his head before turning to leave the room, immediately being caught by the wrist. “You’re staying and talking” Lucien frowned. 

Gabe turned around to look at his brother. “..I don’t have to do shit” Gabe whispered, jerking his hand away to glare. 

Lucien took in a breath and sighed heavily. “..They grow up so fast” He mumbled softly before glancing down at Gabe. “Now sit” He muttered.

“And I’m out,” Michael huffed as a knock sounded on the door.

Gabe tensed up, glancing at the hallway before Lucien forcefully sat him down. “Stay,” He told his brother before glancing to the front door and coming over to it. He gently opened it to stare directly in Sam’s eyes, refusing to look away.

Sam stared back at him, somewhat uncomfortable but refusing to back down. “So?”

Lucien sneered before sighing softly. “Gabe sit your ass down”

Gabe froze where he was at the end of the couch. He sighed, sitting down with a huff. He refused to look up, raising his hands up to his eyes to cover them. 

Lucien stepped aside to let Sam walk in, closing the door behind him. He stopped Sam to grab his shoulder, leaning in to whisper. “..I’ll be watching the whole time. Hurt him again and you’ll be leaving here with more than a black eye” He whispered softly before letting go to walk into the kitchen to sit, eyes not leaving Sam as he sat.

Sam grimaced a little, sighing softly and sitting cross-legged on the floor. “I know you probably hate me and don’t want my apologies, but I just want you to know how sorry I am,” he started quietly, fiddling with his hands. “I don’t know.. what all Lucien told you about what I told him.”

Gabe shrugged, refusing to move his hands away from his eyes. “It doesn’t matter” Gabe whispered softly. “It doesn’t matter what anyone’s said.. What’s done is done, and if that’s how you feel, then you’re allowed to leave, Sam” Gabe sighed, pulling his hands away from his tear-soaked eyes to stare at Sam. “But if you leave, never come back” He frowned.

Sam winced and nodded in understanding. “I don’t know.. I didn’t want to leave I just.. thought you’d be safer.” He sighed and shook his head. “There’s probably a lot of things you should know honestly.”

“I don’t want to hear it” Gabe frowned at Sam. “I can’t hear it..” He sighed, sitting his head up to stare into Sam’s eyes. “If there are things you should’ve told me, you should’ve said that before you changed me” Gabe whispered, carefully standing up afterward to try and leave to the kitchen. 

“Gabe-“ Lucien started, putting an arm around him as he began to sob. Lucien held him tightly, rubbing his back. “Just listen to him. I know you don’t want to, but if you just try it’ll help. You know it’ll help you understand. I know it will” Lucien whispered, standing up to walk him back to the couch, sitting him on the floor, but staying close to pet his head every few seconds.

Sam nodded slowly and took a breath. “You’ve um, you’ve told me about your past. I think it’s only fair you hear mine. Not for pity,” Sam added quickly. “I don’t want pity. I just.. feel like you should know.”

“Sam if you’re gonna make me sit in fucking agony then at least make it quick” Gabe huffed out, wiping his face off.

“Right. Right,” Sam mumbled, then cleared his throat. “So I’ve been in relationships in the past, which you kind of know about. Um, three girls, Madison, R-Ruby, and um.. Jess.” He shifted a little from his seat on the floor and stared down at his hands as they picked at his jeans. “None of them.. ended pretty. Madison got.. really sick. There wasn’t a lot they could do for her so I just- had to watch her wither away. Ruby.. Ruby was um, she was shot.” He had begun stammering at this point, brow furrowed in concentration as he kept himself together. “Didn’t get to say goodbye. It-it was instant. J-Jess um, she.. burned. It was just a random house fire while I was staying over and she was in the bathroom and didn’t know.. people- people pulled me out b-before I could get her.” His voice broke as he finished, quickly being covered up as he cleared his throat. “That’s all. If you want me to leave.. I’ll leave. I just uh, wanted you to understand a little better.”

Gabe stared at Sam’s hands before lowering his head onto his knees. Lucien squeezed his shoulder before gently letting up to back away. “..So that’s it?” Gabe asked softly, lowering his shoulder to stare at Sam. “You think you kill people.. if you date them” Gabe sniffled, leaning forward until he had his head resting on Sam’s shoulder. “You thought you were going to kill me if you stuck around?” Gabe whispered.

“.. Yeah,” Sam nodded softly, still staring at his hands as he bit down hard on his lip.

Gabe looked up at Sam before reaching up to gently pull Sam’s lip from his mouth. He smiled a little and buried his face into Sam’s shoulder, feeling tears well up his eyes again. “..You really hurt me, Sam” He whispered. “I don’t think this will be an instant change but.. maybe..” He paused, beginning to cry. “I wanna try again..” He breathed out. “But I don’t want to” he gasped, sobbing against Sam’s arms. “I don’t wanna do this again”

“I don’t- I don’t expect an instant change, and I won’t make you do anything that you don’t want to do,” Sam assured him, taking in another breath in an attempt to calm himself. Not that it worked. “I-if you want to- if you want to try again, it’s completely up to you.”

Gabe held onto his knees with an iron grip, digging the nail into his skin under his jeans. “..It’s gonna take a couple of months” Gabe whispered to Sam. “...Are you sure you’re ready to put up with that?” He asked softly.

Sam nodded quietly, looking up at him briefly before tears started forming in his eyes, making him look down again. “I am.”

Gabe smiled softly, rubbing his tears on his knees before looking up at Sam. “Okay..” He mumbled, awkwardly reaching out for a hug before pausing and hesitating, bringing his hands back. “I don’t.. know if you-“ He frowned, shrugging a little as he chuckled.

Sam nodded again, opening one arm in invitation. Gabe awkwardly moved to hug Sam around the neck, pausing to relax for a few seconds before pressing himself into Sam, squeezing tightly as he exhaled deeply.

Sam practically let himself fall into his arms, breathing shakily as he tried not to cry more. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled against his shoulder, eyes shut tight.

Gabe smiled, reaching up to play with Sam’s hair. “It’s okay.. it’s okay” He laughed softly, tears still falling onto Sam’s shoulder. He breathed in to calm himself down, his free hand reaching around to grip Sam’s shirt in his fist. “..It’s okay, Sammy” He breathed out.

Sam sniffed and held him tighter, nodding. “Okay.. okay.”

Gabe smiled widely, shifting his legs uncomfortably before stretching them out. “I know we’re having a moment, but can we move to the couch?” He laughed, pulling away to wipe tears out of his eyes.

Sam laughed a little, pulling back and rubbing his face. “Yeah,” he agreed with another sniff.

Gabe smiled as he moved to sit up, helping Sam to his feet before sitting down at the very edge of the couch, leaning against the arm. He looked up and patted the seat next to him. “..Can we still be close?” He asked softly, fingers fidgeting on the carpet he was patting.

Sam smiled weakly and sat down next to him, still rubbing at his eyes. “Sorry I- I haven’t been able to talk about.. them a lot. Just.. give me a second. I’ll calm down.”

“It’s okay” Gabe whispered, reaching up to take Sam’s hand to intertwine their fingers. “..Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that” He mumbled softly, laying his head on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry..”

“It’s not your fault. I’ll be fine,” Sam assured him, leaning back against him anyway.

Gabe smiled a little before lifting his legs to lay them over Sam’s lap. “Just talk to me if you need to” He whispered, playing with Sam’s fingers. “You know I love you” He mumbled softly.

“I know. I love you too,” Sam said softly back, gently squeezing his hand.

Gabe inhaled a little before closing his eyes against Sam’s shoulder. “..I’m sorry Michael gave you a black eye” He whispered. “And that he threw your stuff off the bus” He mumbled. “And I’m also sorry for stressing myself out too much- and um.. falling on the stage and making you worry.” He rambled. “I’m also sorry for forcing Dean to come and get you. I’m.. uh..” He mumbled, biting at his nails.

“Hey, no, come on,” Sam said, hushing him as he took his hands. “I don’t blame you for any of that. Most of it's on me and I’ll own up to it.”

Gabe frowned and squeezed Sam’s hands anxiously. “Uh..” He paused and smiled. “..Sorry” He laughed again.

Sam laughed with him. “No need to be.”

Gabe shook his head with a wide smile. “I could’ve handled it better..” Gabe admitted. “Maybe could’ve convinced Michael to let you at least ride home with us but in the moment I uh..” Gabe shrugged. “Wasn’t the best at.. rationalizing” He mumbled before softly admitting. “I accidentally kicked Lucien.. a lot”

“I still have bruises!” Lucien called out, staring Sam down. 

“It was like- literally last night!” Gabe complained.

Sam shook his head. “I pretty much ignored Dean on the way home.. not that he wanted me talking.”

“Sorry about that too” Gabe whispered before smiling. “I do feel bad about just suddenly kicking you out” He made a noise in his throat before sneering at himself. “It was kind of a dick move

“I don’t blame you, seriously,” Sam stated.

Gabe shrugged, wiping a few tears from his eyes. “I feel really bad” He laughed softly, rubbing his face. “Especially about your eye.. Doesn’t it hurt?” He whispered.

Sam brushed a finger over the bruise and shrugged. “I’ll live. It’s just a mark.”

Gabe frowned, reaching up to gently touch over it. “..Do you want an ice pack?” He asked with a soft smile.

Sam winced slightly and nodded. “Just for a little bit, probably.”

Gabe frowned and moved to sit up from the couch, leaving into the kitchen. He came back with a circle ice pack and leaned over Sam to carefully place it on Sam’s face. He smiled widely, running his free hand down Sam’s cheek. He stared at Sam for a good moment before all of a sudden leaning down to press his lips to Sam’s. Sam leaned into him, reaching around him hesitantly before settling his hands on his back.

Gabe smiled against Sam’s lips before gently pulling away to stare at Sam while remaining close. “..I think we’re gonna be okay” He whispered, moving to sit back where he was, legs curled on Sam’s lap. He held Sam’s face again, taking the ice pack away to check his eyes before pressing it a little lower, under the eye socket.

Sam nodded a little, wincing again before keeping still for him. “I think so too,” he murmured back. “We’ll go at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.”

Gabe nodded softly and rubbed his thumb across Sam’s cheek. “Thanks” He beamed raising the ice pack to cover the bruise on the corner of his eye. “..I’m still sorry Michael hit you” He whispered. “Right now he’s in his room because he didn’t want to see you” He whispered.

“I don’t blame him. Dean’s not exactly thrilled about it though,” Sam shrugged, tilting his head into the coldness.

Gabe frowned deeply before sighing. “I wasn’t either.. When I found out what Michael did I felt so guilty that it was my fault because.. in a sense it was. I could’ve stopped him, or I could’ve done something better for us and..” Gabe shrugged, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry- I’m sorry, I know you feel bad when I talk about it” He mumbled while rubbing his eyes.

“We both could’ve done things differently.. I could’ve opened up to you sooner,” Sam sighed, raising a hand to brush Gabe’s tears away.

Gabe smiled against the hand as he stared down at his lap. He sighed softly, looking Sam in the eyes for a little while before becoming heavily anxious. He glanced away and awkwardly handed the ice pack to Sam before shifting away to hug his knees so they weren’t touching Sam.

Sam tilted his head, moving a bit back against the couch. “You okay?”

“I-“ Gabe started, staring down at the floor as he began practically panting. “Y..” He mumbled, turning to look at Lucien instead of Sam for help. 

Lucien jumped from his seat, rushing over to his brother to calm him down. “What’s wrong?” He whispered softly, brushing some of Gabe’s tears away. Gabe took a breath before pulling Lucien closer to whisper to him. “Okay, okay- come here” He smiled and picked Gabriel up. Once he was in his arms, he moved him over to the other end of the couch where Lucien wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. “Here,” He offered the remote with a smile. “You know what channel looney tunes is” He grinned, staying beside Gabe a few more minutes to listen to him before nodding. He stood and walked in front of Sam, gesturing for him to follow him into the kitchen.

Sam held the ice pack to his bruise as he followed Lucien with a frown. “I didn’t- I didn’t mean to.”

Lucien smiled a little and turned to put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “It’s alright.. It’s not your fault- well..” Lucien frowned as well. “It kind of is” he mumbled. “But I know you didn’t mean to. Gabe just has this thing that when he sees people, he remembers the most emotional events with them- and I’m sure other people have it too. I sometimes feel that way, but Gabe’s always just been more emotional. So this isn’t really your fault, Gabe just.. I’m saying this in the best way you can understand it.. You’ve traumatized him. And when he sees you, he might think of that scene in his head replaying on a loop” He mumbled and smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, Sam. Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do to save people” Lucien explained.

Sam licked his lips anxiously and nodded. “I.. I know that.” He sighed. “I want to make it better, I just- I don’t know how to.”

“Sometimes we can’t” Lucien whispered softly and turned to look at his brother in the living room before glaring at Sam again. “..Just because you messed him up doesn’t mean you get to leave him. I mean it. Even if you think it’s for the best, you talk shit through this time” He practically snapped before walking around the couch to sit with Gabe. “Hey, do you think you’re ready to talk to Sam again?” He asked softly. 

Gabe frowned and nodded a little. “Just.. a little embarrassed” He mumbled with a laugh before wiping his tears off.

Sam smiled slightly, then dropped it. “Do you want me to stay here longer today? I don’t want to overwhelm you.”

Gabe frowned as he thought about it before nodding softly. “I wanna fall asleep on you again” Gabe suggested with a wide smile.

“Okay,” Sam smiled, sitting down on the couch again.

Gabe smiled widely before standing up from his side of the couch. “Lay down” He gestured for Sam to put his legs on the couch. 

“Just don’t fuck on the couch” Lucien teased, making Gabe laugh.

“We’ll be fine,” Sam snorted, kicking his shoes off and laying back on the couch.

Gabe grinned, opening the blanket up so he could lay between Sam’s legs, laying down to settle into Sam’s chest. He yawned softly, shifting his head up to press into Sam’s neck. He tried to remain comfortable before moving a leg up to half straddle Sam’s waist, sleepily moving as he finally was getting tired. Sam draped his arms over Gabe’s back, head lolling to the side as he closed his eyes. He didn’t quite fall asleep, since he could still feel Gabe shifting around every so often.

Michael wandered out in search of Lucien, not noticing Sam on their couch. “Is he gone yet?”

Lucien quickly held up a finger to his mouth, gesturing to Michael to be quiet. He glanced in the living room and shook his head before pointing to where he could see Gabe’s hair on the couch.

Michael glanced over and nodded, then squinted a little. “Why is he still here?”

Lucien frowned before looking at his brother with a soft smile. “Michael.. At least give him a second chance” He whispered. “Gabe’s even trying to” he gestured. “Just give them a little time” He mumbled softly as to not wake them up.

Michael huffed and lowered his voice. “Fine. But not for him.” He then gave his twin an odd look. “Why are you so calm about it?”

Lucien raised his eyes to stare at Michael before shrugging softly. “..I know his story” He mumbled softly. “I know why he did what he did, but that’s not the point. He also defended him against Kali. No one he’s ever dated has done that for him” He shrugged. “Besides.. Gabe’s the happiest when he’s with Sam. No issues. No abuse, no mental breakdowns, no second-guessing himself, no depressive states anymore and he’s just.. happy” Lucien smiled widely. “He’s just happy” He whispered.

Michael frowned as he listened, sighing a little. “I guess you’re not wrong.. still, he’s got a bit to make up for if he wants to come waltzing back in.”

Lucien sighed and stared his brother down. “Would you just let the kids be kids?” He asked with a soft smile. “It’s rare for either of them to find happiness in their lives”

Michael grinned and nodded begrudgingly. “Fine. Sure.”

Lucien grinned, throwing an arm around Michael’s shoulders. “There’s the Michael I know and love” He smirked softly.

“Ha ha. Cas called, he made it home okay with Dean,” Michael informed him.

“That’s good” Lucien whispered. “I should probably call Uriel and see what’s he’s doing about this”

“Probably,” Michael nodded. “What did he say when you told him?”

“He’d try” Lucien shrugged. “Hopefully he doesn’t like.. murder Sam is he comes unexpectedly” He grumbled.

“Hm. That’d be for the best. Email him instead of calling him this time,” Michael suggested.

“I guess I could try” Lucien shrugged, taking out his phone before immediately freezing when their door swung open. 

“Lucien!” Uriel grinned at his brother being seeing Gabe asleep on the couch. “Oh-“ He mumbled, lowering his voice.

Michael jumped and spun around. “Hush. Come in the kitchen with us,” he insisted, gesturing.

Uriel frowned, staring at Gabe laying on someone. “I-“ He paused and gently closed the door before walking into the kitchen, mumbling to keep his voice down. “I thought you said Gabe was beat up over this breakup. And who’s he sleeping on?”

Lucien frowned and glanced at Michael before mumbling. “Um.. It’s- kind of his ex-“

“What?!” Uriel snapped, immediately getting shushed by both brothers.

“It’s a long story,” Michael started. “Sort of. Just uh, don’t kill him and we’ll explain.”

“Please don’t kill him” Lucien whispered, glancing at Gabe who had popped his head up to stare at them. He gestured for him to put his head back down, but Uriel had already turned to look at him. 

“Uriel!” Gabe yelled, sitting up more so he was straddling Sam’s lap. Uriel smiled widely as he came over to pat his brother’s hair. Gabe raised to his feet on the couch, hugging Uriel tightly around his neck, forcing Uriel to pick him up. “I missed you” He mumbled sadly, tearing up against his shoulder.

Sam grunted a little when Gabe moved, opening his eyes and jumping a little at the sight of Uriel. “Um- Hello?”

Michael sighed harshly. “Sam, meet Uriel, another of our brothers. Uriel, Sam.”  
“..Sam?” Uriel frowned and sneered at Sam. 

“Uh-“ Gabe started, pulling away. “We’re cool! We made up- It’s alright please don’t hurt him” Gabe mumbled as Uriel set him on the back of the couch, holding his waist to keep him level. Gabe smiled softly at him. “..I am glad you’re here though” He pouted softly. 

Uriel glared at his brother with annoyance before it softened. “..Gabriel” He frowned.

“They’ve settled things between them. I’m still mad at him but that’s not the point. Now, will you let us explain?” Michael pleaded in exasperation.

Uriel sighed and picked up Gabriel to set him on the ground before coming back to the kitchen.

Gabe smiled softly before walking around the couch to set on Sam’s lap, gently picking up the ice pack. “Sorry that I woke you up. Let me get you a new ice pack” He smiled widely.

“No, don’t worry about it,” Sam shook his head with a small smile. “I’ll live. So that’s Uriel?”

Gabe smiled and nodded. “He’s really sweet though” Gabe promised, moving over to press the ice pack back to Sam’s eye. “I swear, he won’t hurt you as long as you’re on good terms with me” Gabe beamed.

Sam nodded in understanding. “He didn’t seem very happy to see me though. Think I’ll stay out of his way for a while.”

“I’d suggest that too” He whispered softly, raising his other hand to Sam’s cheek. He leaned back up to press another kiss to Sam’s lips, smiling against Sam’s mouth.

Sam smiled along with him, hugging him close as he kissed back. Gabe carefully moved the ice pack to the coffee table before coming back to grip Sam’s hair with a wide smile. He deepened the kiss a little, moving his hands to simply wrap around Sam’s neck. Sam sighed softly, moving his hands to Gabe’s waist as he pulled him closer. Gabe made a soft noise as he opened his mouth to let Sam into his mouth, almost immediately being picked up over the edge of the couch. Gabe blushed, glancing down at Sam before looking at Uriel holding him from under the arms. Gabe smiled softly at his brother, clearing his throat a little. 

“That’s enough” Uriel mumbled, setting Gabe on the edge of the couch to sit before turning back to the kitchen. 

Gabe smiled at Lucien and Michael before falling back to lay on his back on the seat, turning his head to smile sheepishly at Sam. “I guess they didn’t like that so much” He snorted.

“Little bit,” Sam laughed, then sighed. “Guess I don’t blame them. Then again, I’m used to it from Lucien.”

“Well, it’s not their relationship” He smirked widely, moving up to sit back in Sam’s lap. He glanced at his brothers again before turning back to continue kissing Sam. Sam hummed in agreement, tilting his head down to reach him better.

“It is our living room though!” Michael called from the kitchen.

“It’s also mine!” Gabe called out to them before glancing at Sam. “And you’re also mine” He smirked, leaning forward to capture his lips in a heated kiss again. Sam laughed a little against his lips, then reached up to run his fingers through Gabe’s hair.  
Gabe grinned against Sam’s lips before moving to his side, pulling Sam down with him. 

Uriel glared at Sam before turning back to Lucien and Michael. “How could you let this just happen?” He muttered. 

Lucien frowned and stared at him. “Are you even listening?” He mumbled.

“I’m gonna say no,” Michael scoffed. “Look. I’m pissed at him too. Where do you think the black eye came from? But focus. Please.”

“You gave him that black eye?” He asked with a frown. 

“Uriel- focus” Lucien frowned.

“Anyway,” Michael continued with a sigh. “The last show we did on tour, Sam broke up with Gabe, which you know. I got mad, hit him and threw his stuff out, and we left and had his brother pick him up.”

“Well deserved. I’d do the same” Uriel nodded and glanced at Gabe who appeared to sleep next to Sam.

“Yes, well, apparently he had a change of heart on the ride back,” Michael shrugged. “I haven’t heard much about it.”

“Gabe was pretty beat up” Lucien explained. “He only did it because he thought he was killing Gabe, like all of his other exes. It’s not my story to tell but everyone he dates dies, so he didn’t want Gabe to.. He basically thinks he’s cursed” Lucien frowned. “And he wanted to leave Gabe after he got sick because he was worried he might actually have Gabe end up dead” He smiled sadly.

“.. Hm,” Michael responded plainly, expression going from annoyed to concerned. “You mean like the three girls Dean told you about?”

Lucien nodded softly. “He was just afraid something worse was going to happen to Gabe” He whispered. “..They still refuse to talk about the proposal” Lucien sighed. 

“..That what?” Uriel muttered.

“Right, uh,” Michael pressed his lips together before continuing. “Gabe was.. planning to propose the night everything went down.”

Uriel blinked slowly, trying to keep himself calm as he exhaled slowly. “And you’re all.. just forgiving him?” He asked softly. “After Gabe had to go through that?” He muttered.

“Absolutely not. But even if he hadn’t come back for Gabe, Cas is still with Dean. We’d see him again eventually. So.. truce, I guess,” Michael shrugged.

“I guess it works out” He mumbled softly, glaring at where he obviously watched Sam and Gabe make out. “Even then, I’m still surprised Gabe can fall asleep next to that monster” He muttered.

“I’m not sure I could. At least, not right away,” Michael nodded. “But, I guess since Gabe heard him out, things are getting better. I just hope that this doesn’t happen again.”

“Doesn’t he have some.. trauma?” Uriel whispered. 

“He does” Lucien nodded softly. “He did a few minutes ago. He just suddenly.. was having a panic attack” Lucien frowned and glanced at Gabe’s head moving around on the couch. “I was able to calm him down, but I don’t know how he would react with being alone with Sam” Lucien grumbled. 

“Hopefully he’ll get better” He mumbled and frowned.

“Hopefully,” Michael huffed in agreement. “I don’t know. He’s not exactly my favorite person at the moment so.. I might head out.”

“Maybe you should talk your feelings out with Sam” Lucien smirked widely.

“Or- I could NOT do that,” Michael retorted with an annoyed smile. “Might talk to Cas or something. I don’t want to talk to Sam.”

“Could talk to Gabe” Uriel suggested, glancing over to smile before seeing them finally making out. “Gabriel!”

“Ah shit” Gabe muttered, pulling away to glance at his brother. “Um-“ He cleared his throat and smiled softly.

“What- why?” Michael groaned, sitting back against the counter with his arms crossed.

Gabe pouted and shrugged softly. “..I love him” He whispered softly, taking ahold of Sam’s hand to mess with. 

Lucien smiled and looked at Michael and Uriel, gesturing to them on the couch.  
“No, not you, kinda, I meant Lu- never mind,” Michael sighed, squinting at Lucien.

Gabe stared at them before carefully moving back down to lay his head on Sam’s shirt. He yawned softly, curling up against Sam’s neck. 

Lucien laughed softly and put a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Just let it go” He grinned widely.

“Eventually,” Michael hummed. “Anyway. I do still want to go out for a while. Plus, are we still canceling tour?”

“Yes. We will for a few months” Lucien decided with a soft smile. “Until Gabe can look at Sam without breaking down again” He mumbled, looking over the back of the couch to see Sam stroking his fingers through his brother’s hair. Yeah. They might be alright.


	15. Chapter 15

Lucien opened the door to their shared apartment, immediately staring at Sam and Gabe on the couch, who were having some sort of staring contest. “Um..” He whispered, closing the door. “Guys?” He asked getting no answer. 

Gabe continued staring until he cracked and began fidgeting, to which Sam reached out to touch his hand. Gabe took a breath and stared before very obviously panicking and looking away. “I’m sorry!” He blurted, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry.. I didn’t even last twenty minutes this time” Gabe complained.

“Sh, it’s okay, you don’t need to pressure yourself,” Sam murmured, sitting up a little with a concerned expression. He started to reach forward again, then drew his hand back, unsure if he should touch him before looking over at Lucien. “Oh! Sorry, uh, we’re just working through things.”

Gabe frowned and leaned into Sam, trembling a little as he calmed himself. Lucien smiled widely and came up beside Gabe, rubbing his head. “I like this. I think it’ll improve your mental health and relationship” 

“I do too” Gabe smiled. “I know it’s just been a week, but I want to get over this” Gabe grinned. 

“Speaking off.. don’t you think it’s time you two talked about the proposal?” Lucien asked. 

Gabe blushed and sat up with a shrug. “..No one’s brought it up” He mumbled softly.  
Sam shifted a little in his seat, hands fidgeting. “I didn’t think anybody wanted to talk about it, all things considered.”

“I.. really don’t want to marry Sam right now. I do love you,” Gabe said truthfully and shrugged. “I’m just not stable enough anymore to ask” He shrugged. “Because. If I do I’m gonna relive that day and wanna throw myself in a trash can” Gabe shrugged.

Sam nodded in understanding. “I know. Like I’ve said before, there’s no pressure. I didn’t want to bring it up if you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I know Samkins, and it’s okay to talk about a little. I do want to marry you eventually. Hopefully. I just don’t think I’ll be able to do it soon” He explained and stared at the ground before rubbing at his eyes. “Or ever” He sighed. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it” Lucien mumbled with a frown. “I’m sorry I brought it up” He whispered.

“‘S fine,” Sam shrugged, drawing his knees up to his chest and staring ahead in thought. He then shook his head and smiled a little. “What’s up?”

Gabe looked up from Lucien and stared at Sam before turning back to Lucien, mumbling something. Lucien smiled and hugged him. “I know Gabe, and that’s gonna be okay” He whispered, carefully pulling away. “If it’s up to Sam, then he’ll do it when he wants to” Lucien whispered.

Sam glanced between them. “Do.. do what?”

Lucien opened his mouth before closing it and stepping away from Gabe. He gestured for Sam to follow him away from Gabe, waking into the hall.

Sam tilted his head as he followed, shutting the door behind them. “What?”

Lucien shrugged and glanced at the closed door. “It’s complicated and probably embarrassing, but.. Gabe simply doesn’t want to marry you. Well kind of. He doesn’t want to propose to you. Well, he does. Like I said, confusing. He just doesn’t want to relive that night so if guys plan on getting married, you’re gonna have to be the one to ask.. Or wait like ten years for Gabe to maybe recover” Lucien whispered with a frown.

Sam opened his mouth, then closed it again with a nod. “I was.. kinda thinking the same actually. Me proposing, I mean,” he mumbled, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Obviously I’ll wait a while but.. still.”

Lucien smiled softly at him. “I appreciate that, I do” He mumbled before sighing. “I’m just worried he’s not going to be the same after this. Even when you’re not around, he’s just.. changed” He whispered. “I don’t blame you for his behavior, but there’s definitely more to this. Maybe it’s guilt of canceling tour or insecurity over himself or maybe he’s paranoid. Every time I asked.. he blanks or just shrugs it off” He explained.

Sam grimaced and nodded. “I’ve noticed. Kinda why we’ve been working through things. He doesn’t really think so, but there’s been some improvement.”

“Thanks Sam. I don’t think he’s been having as many panic attacks lately either” He mumbled softly. “I’m just glad he’s getting better” He grinned.

“I am too,” Sam sighed. “I still feel bad.”

“Don’t” Lucien reassured, opening the door. “I’m sure Gabe is better now thanks to you” He grinned. 

Gabe poked his head up and smiled softly at his brother and Sam before opening his arms in the direction of Sam.

Sam smiled a little, sitting on the couch with him and pulling him into his lap in a hug. Gabe laughed at the mere act of being manhandled before leaning into Sam’s chest to wrap his arms tightly around Sam’s neck. Sam laughed softly with him, making himself comfortable in the corner of the couch and resting his chin on top of Gabe's head.

“Are we more in love with Sam?” Lucien teased. 

Gabe snorted and curled up slightly, making himself a little heater for Sam’s lap. “More and more every day” He teased, bending back to press a kiss to Sam’s jawline.

Sam smiled and nodded as he hugged him a little tighter. "Do you want to start going out more again? We could have dinner somewhere sometime."

Gabe moved his head back down to shrug a little, putting a hand on Sam’s arm, anxiously rubbing it with his finger. “..I don’t.. think I want the fans around us” He whispered softly, frowning guiltily. 

“Gabe, listen. The only way you’re gonna get over it again is to go out and try it. You’re gonna feel bad, and you’re gonna feel guilty. But Sam will be right there the whole time” Lucien insisted. 

Gabe took a breath to calm himself down before immediately bursting into tears, panicking a little. 

“Hey it’s okay” Lucien whispered, reaching forward to take him from Sam’s arms, holding him close as he just held him. “Sam’s not gonna leave this time. He promised, remember? And if he does- you never have to see him again. No one’s going to hold you against that” He promised, looking down at Sam with a slightly guilty face.

Sam winced a little and nodded slowly. "But I'm not- I'm not leaving this time. We don't have to go anywhere, it's just been a while, you know?"

Gabe clung to Lucien tightly, almost too tightly before easing up his grip and trying to get down. “..Fine” He mumbled, looking at Sam. “We can just sit outside?” He asked hopefully. 

“If that’s all you have the strength to do, then that’s all you have to do” Lucien nodded softly.

Sam nodded as well. "We can do that. Is that what you want?"

Gabe shrugged and played with his nails before sighing. “..Kind of” he whispered anxiously, looking down at his shoes. 

“Don’t feel bad. You know your limits, and no one’s going to make you cross them” Lucien whispered, taking ahold of his shoulder to smile widely at him. 

Gabe nodded and grinned widely, looking at Sam. “Let’s go” He grinned.

Sam smiled and nodded, offering his hand as he stood. “Come on then. We’ll find a place to sit.”

Gabe hesitantly took his hand to lead him out, smiling after a few moments. He grinned later when they made it outside, the sun shining in his eyes. “Ah.. it’s been a few days” He complained, covering his eyes.

“Well, better late than never, hm?” Sam laughed, gently squeezing his hand. “Where are we headed?”

Gabe glanced around anxiously, squinting around with his undeveloped eyes. “Um..” He began before rubbing at his eyes. “Are you hungry?” He smiled widely. “Because I really want mozzarella sticks”

“I could eat,” Sam nodded enthusiastically, grinning. “Wanna head down and get some to go?”

“We could sit down” He mumbled and took out his phone, immediately calling someone as he walked Sam down the sidewalk. “Hey, could you watch over us? Yeah probably just someplace to eat, I’m planning on staying in public but could you keep people away please?” He begged before grinning. “You’re the best.. Yes, I’ll save you some mozzarella sticks” He laughed and hung up, crossing over the street. “We can go anywhere now” He grinned widely.

“Uh.. okay? Who was that?” Sam laughed as he walked with him.

Gabe smiled widely. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter, is that we will be left alone so long as he does his job” He nodded softly. “Another older brother. He’s basically a bodyguard” Gabe explained.

Sam hummed and nodded. “Hey, it works out, yeah? Now we can relax a little.”  
“I should’ve done this months ago” He mumbled, hand squeezing Sam’s anxiously as he stared at his phone.

“It’s alright, your fans like to talk to you, I get it,” Sam shrugged, tilting his head with a small smile.

Gabe glanced at him, slowly losing interest as he carefully slipped his hand back. He frowned deeply and stared at the ground. “But you didn’t like it before.” He mumbled, anxiously messing with his hands. “I don’t..” He paused and pressed his lips together. “I don’t want you to hate me again” He whispered quickly, straining himself to finish the sentence.

Sam turned back to him, slightly startled. “Of course I’m not going to hate you, I’ve never hated you,” he insisted with wide eyes. “Yeah I wasn’t used to fans, I’m still not, but they’re a part of your life.”

Gabe nodded a little and smiled a bit at this, eventually looking up at Sam. “So then.. why did you leave me the first time?” He asked with a gentle tone.

Sam chewed on his lip before answering. “I told you.. I didn’t want you dead because of me.”

Gabe nodded a little and rubbed over his shoulders, trying to understand a little more. “I’m sorry. It’s sometimes confusing for me” He admitted, looking down. “I’m still trying to just.. do everything”

“I know. It’s weird to understand, you don’t have to understand all of it,” Sam shook his head, smiling reassuringly. “It’s just.. hard for me not to think like that. All things considered.”

“I get it Sam. There were times when you’d do things that made my skin crawl because Asmodeus would do it. But I never decided to leave you just because you had moments. Kind of like I had moments” He glared angrily at the floor. “Guess I had too many” He muttered bitterly.

“No. No, you didn’t. I just made a dumbass decision,” Sam sighed, shaking his head. “Never again, though.”

Gabe smiled softly at this before sighing. “Alright.. Promise?” He asked with a frown.

“Promise,” Sam said sincerely.

Gabe made a noise and reached for his hand again, opening the door with a wide smile. “Mozzarella time” He mumbled, waiting patiently by the front of the restaurant.

“Mozzarella time,” Sam laughed in agreement, following him inside.

Gabe smirked widely as he leaned back into Sam’s chest, wrapping his arm around his waist so Sam was holding him. He got excited when the waitress led them to a booth, immediately ordering a strawberry lemonade. “What do you want? I’m buying” Gabe mumbled, messing with the edge of the table.

“Hm, just water and a salad will be fine,” Sam shrugged, smiling. “You don’t have to pay for everything.”

Gabe stared at him before frowning. “I just want like, three orders of mozzarella sticks” He mumbled softly, folding his menu back up to hand to the waitress. He stayed smiling until she had gone away before frowning at Sam. “Come on.. You’re so mean” He pouted.

“What? I like my health food,” Sam shrugged, hunching his shoulders up.

Gabe pouted, smiling at the rainbow candy they’d put in his lemonade. “Live a little?” He grinned. “For me” He teased.

“Maybe,” Sam snorted. “I dunno. I think you’d like salad. There’s a lot of different kinds.”

Gabe shook his head. “You’re definitely disgusting” He laughed, moving his legs to touch Sam’s feet under the table.

“Aw, thanks,” Sam snorted, nudging Gabe’s foot with his own.

“You’re very welcome” Gabe teased, glancing behind Sam’s head with a sudden startled noise. He stared wide-eyed, almost immediately starting to cry. His eyes scanned over the area quickly before looking down at the table in fear. He refused to look up, opting to pick at the edge of the table instead.

“Gabe? Wha- what..?” Sam looked at him worriedly before turning his head to try and see what had scared him.

Gabe shook his head and whined, gently kicking Sam under the table. He looked at Sam’s head, turning away when he tried to meet his eyes, glancing out the window.

Sam frowned and lowered his voice. “What’s going on?”

Gabe looked back at the table and shook his head quickly. He took a slow glance at people’s passing feet, immediately looking back at Sam. He hesitantly opened his mouth before quickly closing it when he made eye contact with someone. His eyes widened in fear as he sat still, silently crying to himself. He shrunk under the person’s glare, turning his head to look away.

Sam’s frown only deepened, and he turned his head once again to meet the person’s eyes.

“Well hasn’t it been a while?” A man smiled, coming up to the table. Gabe shivered next to him, panic setting in. “I see we have a friend” The man smiled, putting his hands in his pockets. “What’s your name?”

Sam looked him up and down, glancing over at Gabe quickly before turning back to him. “Um.. Sam. You are..?”

“A family friend” He explained. “Gabe knows me very well” He gestured, causing Gabe to flinch. He frowned and glared at Gabe for that. 

Gabe swallowed thickly, turning to look away from him. 

“I thought I taught you well, boy.” The man snapped, smacking his hand on the table. Gabe let out a small noise at this. “You look at people while they’re speaking to you” He whispered. 

Gabe nodded quickly and turned to hesitantly look up at him, keeping his chin low.

Sam glared at the man, standing up from his seat. “Don’t talk to him like that,” he hissed, then looked him over again with a squint. “Right. I’ve seen you before. Asmodeus I’m guessing?”

“I don’t reckon it matters to someone like you” He muttered, putting a hand in Gabe’s shoulder that made him jump. “You can mind your own business. Now if you’ll excuse me, Gabe and I seem to have unfinished business elsewhere” He glared, gesturing for Gabe to stand up. 

Gabe stared at Asmodeus’s hand, shaking his head softly. He looked towards Sam’s feet instead, refusing to stand up.

“No, actually. You don’t,” Sam responded coldly, shoving his hand from Gabe’s shoulder and forcing his way between them. “Now leave my boyfriend alone.”

Asmodeus huffed, straightening his jacket lapels. “Well,” He muttered, staring at Sam. He grabbed ahold of Sam’s shoulder, gripping it tightly. “I don’t think you have a say in this” He muttered. “This isn’t a game you wanna play”

“Obviously. It is.” Sam looked him dead in the eye, jerking his shoulder out of his grip. “Plenty of witnesses here, don’t you think?” he continued, nodding to the other customers.

“You obviously don’t know me very well.. because I don’t care about other people” He muttered, physically moving Sam’s body to the side. “This doesn’t involve you, and if you do what’s best, you’ll stay out of it” He muttered. 

Gabe made a small noise when Sam was forced aside, immediately panicking again as Asmodeus took ahold of his bicep to pull him up to his feet, with a lot of resistance. 

“Have you forgotten everything?” He muttered, turning to grasp Gabe’s jaw in his free hand, pulling him in closer.

Sam grabbed him by the back of his jacket collar, yanking him back angrily. “Keep your hands off him!”

Asmodeus glared as he was separated from Gabe, immediately turning to Sam. “You don’t get to tell me what to do with things that aren’t yours!” He snapped angrily, turning to glare at Gabe who had pulled out his phone. “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, stepping closer. “I thought I taught you to ask first” He muttered, not touching Gabe as he got closer.

Gabe trembled as he looked up at him, opening his mouth for a second before it was being gripping shut tightly. 

“We’ve been over this, good boys don’t talk” He muttered.

“I don’t think you heard me correctly,” Sam sneered, yanking him even further away from Gabe to the middle of the room. “Do not. Touch him. He isn’t some piece of property,” he spat.

“I don’t think you heard me correctly, good boys. Don’t talk” He smirked, tripping Sam by kicking his legs so he could shove him into a chair, watching it break into pieces. 

“Sam!” Gabe cried, standing up to take a step forward, pausing to meet Asmodeus’ stare again. He shook his head a little, moving back to lean against their table.

Sam hissed as he and the pieces of the chair hit the floor, partially in pain but mostly out of anger. He threw his legs forward to wrap around the bottom of Asmodeus’, twisting himself around quickly and sending the man crashing to the floor.

Gabe winced painfully as he watched them both lay on the ground. 

Asmodeus almost immediately sat up afterward, raising quickly to stand, lowering himself until he could grab Sam by his collar and raise him to his level. “You don’t want to do this..” He whispered softly, glaring into Sam’s eyes.

Sam didn’t say anything for a moment, simply glaring him down. “Don’t I?”

Asmodeus took a breath before laughing harshly. “No, you-“ He started before immediately being cut off by a fist being thrown into his nose. 

“Don’t you ever fucking touch my brother- or Sam, ever again!” Lucien snapped from where he was fuming. He turned back to look at Sam and frowned. “Gabe called, I’ve been hearing a lot” He whispered, ushering Michael and Balthazar over to where Gabe was. 

Gabe looked at Michael with a wide smile, running up to him to hug him tightly as he cried. Sam gave a little sigh of relief as the grip on shirt loosened, allowing him to back away and out of his grasp.

Balthazar lifted him to his feet, raising an eyebrow when he winced and suppressed a yelp of pain. “You alright?”

“Fine- fine. Just get Gabe away from him,” Sam muttered, holding his shoulder as he stood.

Michael nodded, rubbing Gabe’s back. “Are you okay?” He asked him, backing both of them slightly away.

Gabe sighed softly, squeezing his brother happily. “I’m good.. I’m so good” He whispered, fingers tangling themselves in Michael’s shirt. 

Lucien stared at Sam and smiled softly. “Don’t worry, we called the police so they should be here shortly” He whispered.

“They’re not going to help you” Asmodeus laughed as he stood across from Lucien. 

“Maybe. But they won’t help you either” Lucien muttered, smirking to himself. 

Asmodeus glared, raising his fist to wipe the smirk from Lucien’s face, sending him back a few steps until he was leaning against the table.

Sam let go of his shoulder and used his other arm to put him into a chokehold, attempting to keep him back from Lucien. “That’s enough! You’ll just make it worse on yourself.”

Asmodeus almost immediately grabbed Sam’s arm in an attempt to get him off of him, feeling light-headed the more he struggled. “Hold that position, Sam!” Lucien warned him, blood falling from his nose to his shirt. Asmodeus choked on the very little air he had before passing out against Sam’s arms, his body becoming limp. Lucien sighed softly as he watched Sam drop his body to the floor. “Go outside and wait with Michael, I’ll talk to the employees here” He whispered.

Sam nodded, wincing a little as he went to hold his shoulder as he went out with the others. Gabe sat with Michael on the curb, talking to an officer calmly before they were nodding and walking past Sam to go inside. Gabe sobbed again as he leaned into Michael’s side, clinging to his brother for dear life.

Sam sat next to them, frowning. “Gabe- it’s okay,” Michael was murmuring, holding him against his side. “It’s being taken care of okay?”

“I didn’t make things worse, did I?” Sam asked with a frown, hunched in on himself.

“Worse? God no!” Balthazar scoffed, squinting at him. “No, Asmodeus is a dick. Nobody’s upset at you.. police might wanna talk to you though.”

Gabe sighed softly as he pulled away to glance at Sam. He opened his mouth before pausing and closing it. He whimpered softly, reaching out to bury himself in Sam’s chest. “I’m sorry” He whispered, gripping Sam’s shirt tightly. “I’m so sorry” He sobbed.

Sam let go of his shoulder with a slice wince so that he could hug him back with his good arm. “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize. It’s okay.”

Gabe shook his head a little, refusing to look up at Sam’s eyes. Lucien carefully walked out with two boxes and a small smile on his face. He carefully sat down next to Gabe, reaches out to rub his back. Gabe lifted his head and turned to Lucien with a worn smile. “Mozzarella sticks?” Lucien offered, making Gabe burst into laughter.


	16. Chapter 16

Gabe sighed as he rubbed over Sam’s bare chest as he slowly pressed the ice pack to his shoulder as to not make him jolt. Lucien smiled from behind them, holding his own ice pack to his jaw. “Thanks, Sam..” He whispered softly. “I know I said I respected you after Kali, but.. I can’t thank you enough for getting my brother out of there unscratched” Lucien mumbled, smiling at Gabe. Gabe smiled widely himself, glancing at Sam.

“It’s not a problem,” Sam assured him, shaking his head with a smile. “Sorry I couldn’t do the same for your face.”

Lucien shrugged and reached forward to rub over Gabe’s hair. “Who cares about me?” Lucien mumbled softly, glancing at the TV. 

“I do!” Gabe frowned, looking up at Lucien’s face. “What?” He asked softly, turning to see him and his brothers on the news. “Oh-“ He whispered softly. 

“Superstar, Gabriel Novak, and his brothers were seen outside of Arby’s when police arrived. Witnesses say the youngest brother’s boyfriend, Samuel Winchester had protected him from an attacker” The woman smiled as her face faded into a clip from a camera restaurant. 

Gabe frowned and glanced away to continue tending to Sam’s wounds.

Sam grunted a little. “Guess I should’ve expected it would be on the news,” he snorted.

“Hey, you’re a hero now,” Michael joked as he walked in from the kitchen with a more frozen ice pack.

“I need to start making better dating choices” Gabe mumbled, moving Sam’s arm in a better position for it to heal. 

“I think you did good with this one” Lucien mumbled softly, watching the news. “Hey, they’re using our twitter pictures” Lucien laughed. 

Gabe blushed as he looked up to stare at the news reporter, a picture of Gabe inside of Sam’s shirt appearing. “Oh my god” He whispered softly. 

“Fans are claiming Sam as a hero for stalling the attacker, Asmodeus Prince, while Gabriel’s brothers arrived after calling the police. Suspect Asmodeus will be sentenced to fifteen years in prison for assault and attempted kidnapping” She frowned, her face disappearing as more pictures filtered onto the screen as people talked. 

“You did good Sam” Lucien whispered, leaning forward to place a hand on Sam’s good shoulder.

“That’ll do pig.. that’ll do” Gabe whispered with a wide smile. 

Lucien glared. “You’ve never even watched Babe!” He frowned.

Sam laughed loudly. “Oh well,” he snorted. “But seriously, I’m glad you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“I am too. I can’t thank you enough” Gabe whispered, taking ahold of Sam’s hand as he leaned up to kiss him.

“It’s not any problem,” Sam assured him with a smile.

“It must’ve been” He frowned, staring at Sam’s shoulder and Lucien’s busted lip. 

“Gabe. What matters is that you’re safe” He whispered, removing his icepack to gently brush against Gabe’s cheek making him yelp. 

Gabe frowned and rubbed his cheek on his shoulder before removing Sam’s ice pack. “Does it feel any better?” He frowned, taking ahold of Sam’s elbow and forearm to slowly move it around.

Sam made a soft noise and shrugged with his other shoulder. “Kinda? I think I’ll live though. Probably.”

Gabe laughed softly and helped to lay his arm back in his lap. “I’ll go get the sling” He mumbled softly, moving off the couch to stand up and walk into the hall. 

Lucien watched him go before glancing down at Michael and Balthazar at the end of the couch. He glanced back at Sam and smiled. “As much as this day sucked.. It seems to have improved Gabe’s health” He mumbled softly. “Whether it be you getting hurt or seeing that bastard in prison, it somehow helped. Sorry you had to get hurt, but I’m really glad things turned out this way”

“Meh. I’ve had worse,” Sam shook his head. “I just want him to be okay. He was really spooked.”

Lucien sighed deeply. “I’m so glad you were there with him” Lucien whispered. “He could’ve..” He paused and stared at Sam. “I’m not joking when I tell you that could’ve been the last time you saw him if you would’ve let him walk out of here alone” He whispered.

“I’m not gonna lie-“ Gabe suddenly said as he walked back into the living room. “I keep trying to adjust it because I know you can-“ Gabe paused when the strings came unlatched and fell out of the adjustable plastic clip. “Never mind” He whispered with a string, coming back to sit next to Sam.

Sam glanced at Lucien with a frown, then smiled at Gabe and tilted his head as he looked at the sling. “How long do I need that?”

Gabe shrugged and stared at it before throwing a shirt at Sam. “Like I know. I’m not a nurse” He mumbled softly before winking. “But I could be” He teased. 

“No!” Lucien yelled, glaring at his brother. 

“Stay out of my sex life!” Gabe snapped. 

“You don’t have one!” Lucien snapped back.

“Why would you know about that?” Sam asked him with a smirk. “Spying on your brother?”

Gabe paused to blush a little. “I didn’t think he knew about what we did” Gabe whispered. 

“What?” Lucien asked. 

“Nothing” Gabe blurted, helping Sam get his arm in the t-shirt. “Nothing-“ He mumbled again, pulling the sling over Sam’s shoulder. 

“What did you do to my baby brother?” Lucien glared at Sam. 

“More like what I did to Sam” Gabe laughed softly, setting Sam’s arm in the sling and adjusting it to where it fit him. “Perfect” He mumbled.

“Thanks,” Sam smiled, letting his arm drop its weight into the sling. “And uh, nothing Lucien. Don’t worry about it.”

“No- tell me what you two did!” Lucien glared. 

“Alright well, first I sucked Sam’s dick-“

“That’s enough!” Uriel shouted, glaring at Gabe. 

“Oh my god, I’m joking!” Gabe laughed. “We haven’t done anything. You know damn well I’m too scared I’ll get hurt again” He laughed softly. “But if you ever ask, I’ll go into insane detail” Gabe snorted. 

“I’m good..” Lucien whispered, frowning. “Just be safe when you actually do anything” He complained. 

“We will” Gabe muttered, shoving at Lucien’s chest gently as to not hurt him. “Now stop talking about my nonexistent sex life”

Michael rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor. “Anyway.. are we done playing doctor?”

“I’d think so,” Balthazar shrugged. “Not a lot more we can do, other than keeping ice packs nearby.”

“I will forever be Sam’s sexy nurse, what are you guys talking about?” Gabe laughed. 

“Dude, decency” Lucien joked, watching the clip of him running in to punch Asmodeus play on TV. He frowned and looked down at Gabe smiling as he put a childish band-aid on Sam’s shirt.

Sam laughed a little, picking at a part of it for a moment before dropping his hand. “Thanks, Doctor Novak,” he said jokingly.

Gabe grinned widely, opening another one to place on the sling. “You’re very welcome” Gabe mumbled, moving to sit in his lap, leaning against the arm of the couch with Sam’s right arm behind him.

Sam smiled and leaned his head onto Gabe’s shoulder, sighing softly. “Damn, we never got our food. We should just order pizza.”

“..Can we get mozzarella sticks still?” He whispered softly, pouting. 

“We sure can bub” Lucien whispered, smiling at his siblings. “What do we want?”

“Mozzarella sticks. A lot of them” Gabe mumbled. “Like twenty”

“Twenty mozzarella sticks, got it,” Michael mumbled to himself as he stood up with his phone pressed to his ear to order. “And pizza, your regular and my pepperoni.”  
Gabe nodded with a wide smile. “Sam, you want anything?” He asked softly, leaning closer to play with his boyfriend’s hair.

“Nah, I’ll just steal some pizza,” Sam smiled, tilting his head closer to his hand.

Gabe smiled softly at him as he began braiding Sam’s strands into very tiny and thin strips before letting it go. “You’re cute” He whispered softly, starting another braid.

Sam shrugged a little, looking down at his lap as he smiled. “Eh, I’m not my type. You on the other hand-“

“Stop” Gabe scoffed, pushing Sam’s face away. “You’re too disgusting for me” He grumbled and turned to face away from him.

“Tch, aw thanks,” Sam laughed as he sat up.

“You’re welcome, now shut up and get better” He mumbled, leaning on Sam’s right shoulder to curl into his chest. “This doesn’t hurt, right?” He asked anxiously.

“Not a lot,” Sam shook his head as he settled back. “Just sore. I did break a chair.” He pursed his lips. “They’re gonna want me to pay for that.”

“I’ll pay for it” Gabe immediately replied, hesitantly moving back to where he hoped he wasn’t hurting Sam. “Don’t worry about it” He whispered.

“If you’re sure,” Sam nodded. “And don’t worry about hurting me. I’ll be fine.”

Gabe sighed softly as he carefully set his head back down, closing his eyes with a wide smile. Lucien sighed deeply before yawning. “I really want that pizza” He whispered.

“It’ll be here soon,” Michael said, setting his phone on his leg as he sat on the couch. “Twenty minutes maximum.”

Lucien frowned as he walked around the couch to sit between Sam and Michael, leaning on his twin’s shoulder as he held the ice pack to his lip and cheek.

Michael glanced over at him, rubbing his head for a moment before tilting his head to see his face. “How’s that feeling? He got you pretty good.”

Lucien glanced up at Michael before mumbling around the ice pack. “Like I got punched in the mouth” He whispered.

“No shit?” Michael laughed, rolling his eyes. “I’ve got another ice pack getting colder in the freezer, when either of yours gets warm.”

“Sam can have it. I’ll probably need to patch this up before it gets infected” Lucien mumbled softly, licking over the cut in his lip.

“Probably. Don’t lick it,” Michael scolded, then sighed. “We’ve got antibiotic cream. You should put some of that on it.”

“And hope no teeth were knocked loose,” Balthazar cut in.

Lucien stuck his tongue out and licked over his lip again, right in Michael’s face before biting at it to make it bleed down his chin. “Nah” Lucien smirked.

“Lucien!” Michael groaned, pushing his face away. “God, you’re ridiculous. Go clean yourself up, would you?”

Lucien laughed and stood up, carrying the ice pack to the freezer before going into the bathroom to get a butterfly bandaid for his lip.

Michael rolled his eyes and leaned back into the couch. "He'll get himself into trouble someday," he sighed.

"Yeah, well, you'll be there, won't you?" Sam tilted his head.

“Excuse me if I’m wrong but we literally wrote a song about you guys needing to bail me out of jail” Lucien called from the bathroom before coming out, pressing the bandaid to his lip. “Cuz uh- I remember that night!” He complained.

"Wait- what?" Sam looked between the three other brothers in confusion.

Lucien glanced at him as he sat down. “Bail me Out?” He asked softly. “I called Michael and begged him to come to get me”

“No I mean- why were you in jail?” Sam reiterated.

“Oh,” Lucien smiled widely. “I randomly by chance saw Asmodeus at the store and beat him until he was unconscious” Lucien smiled widely.

“Ah..” Sam hummed as he thought. “Would’ve done the same today if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“I almost did but I remembered the cameras” Lucien grumbled, glancing at the door before pouting. “Michael I want food!”

"It's not here yet. Calm down," Michael huffed, nudging his shoulder. "We've got at the very least another five minutes."

“Come on” Lucien whined, patting his stomach. “I’m hungry” He complained with a deep frown.

"I can't help that Lu," Michael shrugged. "I don't have magic."

Lucien huffed softly and pouted, leaning into Michael’s lap to lay. “I’m dead. I died, and it’s your fault” He muttered.

"You're dramatic," Michael snorted, but held back an actual laugh. "Dead brothers can't eat pizza."

“Neither can sleeping brothers” He complained, sitting up on his elbows to point to where Gabe had passed out on Sam’s shoulders.

"Do you see Gabe with pizza? Neither do I. So you wait," Michael smirked.

Lucien glared before leaning up to press his nose to his brother’s. He glared for a while before leaning his mouth and sticking his tongue out to slobber all over Michael’s face.

"Fucking- Lucien!" Michael yelled, pushing him down. "Gross, I know we're twins but we don't share saliva."

Gabe jolted awake, breathing heavily as he stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking at his brothers. 

Lucien winced as he landed on his back, suddenly feeling the pain from being shoved into a table again. “Alright- You win” He whispered softly, shifted to sit up, carefully getting up to sit on the couch with a groan.

Michael frowned and glanced at him. "Sorry- you good?"

"Damn Mike, remind me not to get on your bad side," Balthazar said, raising his eyebrows dramatically.

“Yeah” Lucien whispered, rubbing at his lower back before hesitantly leaning back with a wince. “Alright, I’m uh.. go lay down” He sighed. 

Gabe frowned and moved his foot to kick at Lucien’s thigh. “Come and lay on me” He pouted.

Lucien laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think Sam would enjoy being crushed more than he already is”

“Like I give a damn. Half of me is still mad at him” He muttered, opening his arms for his brother to come and lay on his stomach. 

Lucien laughed softly and shifted over to lay with his head on Gabe’s stomach, arms wrapping around his waist where there was empty room under the arm of the couch. Gabe smiled, moving to rub his shoulders, gently pulling on his shirt so he could see the bruise flourishing around Lucien’s tailbone.

Sam craned his neck to see, wincing in sympathy. "Um.. do we need a fresh ice pack?" he asked, nodding toward the kitchen.

"I'll uh- I'll get it," Michael mumbled, moving to stand up.

Gabe frowned, rubbing at Lucien’s hair for a minute. “I’m-“

“Don’t even think about apologizing” Lucien cut him off with a mutter. “You know damn well this isn’t your fault”

Gabe smiled sadly at Lucien, running his fingers through his hair before looking up to try and find Michael.

"Here," Michael sighed as he reentered the living room, handing a new ice pack to Lucien. "Are either of your old ones too warm yet?"

"Meh," Sam shrugged with one shoulder. "I'll be fine."

Michael nodded, then looked down at his brother. "Yours?"

Lucien shrugged taking the ice pack in confusion. Gabe gently took it to pull his shirt up, placing it on his back. Lucien tensed, wincing a little as he grumbling. “Sonofa-“ He began before shuddering a breath out. “Fucker” He whispered.

Michael winced in sympathy, then reached down to take the ice pack Lucien had been using for his lip. "I meant this one but uh, keep that one on that bruise," he said, mostly to Gabe. "Sam, give me yours so it can be cold again. It's useless otherwise."

"It's really not a big deal," Sam tried to assure him, squishing the ice pack between his fingers.

Michael huffed and reached forward, taking it from his hands before walking back to the freezer.

Gabe smiled widely at Sam. “It’s his way of showing you he forgave you” Gabe mumbled, reaching up to touch Sam’s face gently. “You’re doing good” He mumbled softly.

Sam smiled a little. "I'm glad. He's spent a long time mostly glaring at me or ignoring me, not that I blame him."

“It’s okay” He reassured, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Sam’s mouth. “We all forgive you” He whispered.

Sam sighed softly and leaned against his back a little. "You forgave me faster than Dean did, surprisingly," he shrugged, his small smile returning before he jumped at a knock on the door.

"Food!" Balthazar exclaimed, tripping a little as he dug his wallet from his pocket and dashed to the door at the same time.

Gabe laughed softly and smiled widely at his brother’s antics. He frowned when he saw Cas and Dean instead of their food. “What are you guys doing here?”

Dean frowned and glanced at Balthazar before smiling at Sam and Gabe. “We saw the news” He mumbled softly, glancing at Lucien’s bruise under the ice pack. “We were kind of worried..” Dean mumbled.

"Are you all okay?" Cas asked as he hurried inside. "I told you we should've pressed charges sooner." He paused a moment to look at Balthazar, who was pouting as he put his wallet away again. "What are you doing?"

"I thought you were food. You're not food," he huffed, then went to sit in the chair.

"Who are you- oh," Michael said as he came out of the kitchen. "Hey, uh, guess you heard huh?"

"Yes, now to repeat myself, are you all okay?" Cas asked again, furrowing his brow as he waited.

Gabe nodded softly before looking at Lucien. “I’ll be fine, it’s alright” Lucien mumbled softly, humming contently as Gabe began scratching his nails through Lucien’s scalp.

“Sam hurt his shoulder and arm, so I got him in a sling. Lucien took most of the beating with his busted mouth and back” He mumbled softly, rubbing over his brother’s head. “I should’ve never dated that psycho” He mumbled.

"Gabe, nobody blames you. He didn't start out as bad, we all noticed it get progressively worse," Balthazar told him with a frown.

Gabe shrugged and smiled at his brother. “I know” He mumbled softly, heading popping up at another knock.

"Food this time?" Balthazar whined as he headed back for the door.

“Novak, right?” The boy asked, holding their pizza box and a smaller one on top. “Thirty nineteen” He smiled before looking around. “Whoa- you guys were on the news!” He stared with wide eyes. 

“Yup, sadly” Lucien grumbled, wincing when he moved wrong. 

“Lucien” Gabe laughed softly, patting his head. “Mozzarella stick time!” He grinned.

Balthazar smiled as he handed the boy forty dollars and took their food boxes. "Keep the change, yeah? And stay out of trouble, unlike us," he joked.

The boy laughed and nodded before walking down the hall.

“Mozzarella!” Gabe snapped grumpily and pouted, crossing his arms.

"Fuckin' hell, I've got 'em," Balthazar scoffed, taking the top box to hand down to him. "Go to town, don't choke."

"Just leave the pizza on the coffee table," Michael sighed with a small smile, gesturing to the table. "You two care to join us?" he asked, looking up at Dean and Cas. "Plenty of food."

Gabe immediately opened the box to start eating them, burning his tongue and chin on the cheese inside. He panted softly, swallowing a stick whole, frowning when it burned going down. “Jokes on you stupid cheese, now you can’t burn my tongue again so I’m immune” He smirked, taking another bite. “Ow!”

Dean laughed and shrugged. “I’d rather head out, but if Cas wants to stay with you guys I’ll pick him up later” Dean mumbled.

"No, we've got dinner plans actually," Cas shook his head and smiled. "We just wanted to make sure you were doing well after all that."

"We're alright, thanks though," Sam assured him with a small smile as he tested his shoulder again by rolling it slightly, eye twitching in a concealed wince. "Pretty sure Lucien got worse than I did, getting punched in the face and all."

“Quit moving your shoulder or I’ll punch it back into place” He grumbled, lowering a mozzarella stick for Lucien to eat. 

“See? I told you they would be fine” Dean whispered softly, rubbing Cas’ shoulder. 

Gabe smiled widely and nodded before raising a mozzarella stick to Sam’s mouth.

"I know, I know, you were right," Cas sighed, then laughed a little as he leaned into Dean's side. "We should probably go now, huh? Get ready to eat later."

Sam casually bit off of the mozzarella stick, placing his chin on Gabe's shoulder. "What, you doin' a fancy restaurant tonight or something?"

Dean shrugged softly before nudging Cas’ shoulder. He smiled before leaning in to softly whisper to him. “Show 'em your ring babe” He whispered against Cas’ temple, kissing his ear.

Cas’ smiled brightened and he slowly lifted his left hand, gently adjusting a silver band with tiny gemstones embedded in it.

Lucien shifted up to move the ice pack off his back to sit up and smile at him. “That’s amazing! Hurt him and you’re fucking dead” Lucien’s smile dropped as he stared at Dean.

Dean laughed softly, wrapping a hand around his waist. “I won’t” He smiled before suddenly frowning. “Gabe?” He asked softly, eyes turning to concern.

Lucien turned to find his brother, hugging himself tightly as he stared at Cas’ hand. His whole face was flushed red, tears slipping silently down his face as his mouth trembling in an open mouth gape. “Gabe...” Lucien called out before quickly reaching forward to pick him up “Hey hey hey, it’s okay” He pleaded softly and carried him to the hallway, his voice quiet as he talked his brother down. 

Dean frowned deeply and glanced at Cas before looking at Michael. “I- I didn’t do anything” He whispered softly, an anxious expression on his face.

“You didn’t,” Michael sighed, stepping forward to hug Cas tightly before backing off. “You remember what he said a while ago? Before Dean came back with Sam?”

Cas’ face twisted in confusion, then his eyes widened. “Oh.. right,” he sighed. “The planned proposal.”

Sam was still sitting on the couch, frowning in concern toward the hallway. “Right,” he sighed softly, scratching at his knee before looking up at Dean. “That’d be.. my fault.”

Dean sighed softly and stared at Sam before shaking his head. “It’s alright” He mumbled and glanced at the hallway door before looking back at Sam. “I think you having to help him get better is punishment enough,” He said bluntly, glaring at his brother.

“Punishment huh? As if I was forced to,” Sam huffed and glared right back at him, then got up from the couch to start toward the hallway.

Balthazar sat awkwardly on the couch, picking the cheese off of his pizza. “Um.. congrats to you both,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Fun times, huh?”

Dean sighed and smiled at Balthazar. “Thanks” He mumbled softly. 

Lucien gently shut Gabe’s bedroom door, looking up at Sam with a sympathetic smile. “Hey” He sighed, staying in front of Gabe’s door.

“.. Hey,” Sam responded softly, glancing at the door. “How’s he doing?”

Lucien shook his head a little and frowned. “Said he wanted to be alone” He shrugged. “He never wanted to be alone since last week, but I can’t tell if him wanting to be alone is a good or bad sign” He whispered.

Sam flinched a little, stealing another glance at the door. “Relapses happen sometimes,” he nodded slowly. “We just.. need to be here, I think.”

Lucien frowned and shook his head. “I think he needs some time to himself. He hasn’t had that in days” He mumbled. “Months if you really think about it” He shrugged.

“I know that. I just mean if he needs any of us, we need to be there,” Sam nodded.

Lucien put a hand on the door frame, blocking Sam’s way. “He has my number” He glared, instantly becoming defensive.

“You’re not understanding me,” Sam sighed, pressing his lips together. “Support. When he’s ready. Not barging into his room.”

Lucien shrugged softly. “Then I’ll be the one to sit out here and wait until he’s ready” He mumbled, moving to sit across from Gabe’s bedroom door.

Sam sighed and put his free hand in the air in mock defense. “Sure, okay. You do that,” he said, turning to head back down the hall.

Lucien glared as he crossed his arms and waited. 

Dean glanced at Sam when he came back in, looking back to Cas. “I think we should go” He whispered softly, frowning. “I’m sorry about your brother” He mumbled.

“He’ll be okay. Sometimes he just needs time to himself,” Cas said, shaking his head.

“He said he wanted to be alone,” Sam nodded, standing in front of them. “Sorry, um, we’re still really happy for you both,” he continued with a smile.

Dean frowned and shrugged, carefully hugging his brother. “Be gentle with him” He teased, moving to the door with Cas’ hand intertwined with his.

“I am,” Sam nodded, waving a little as they left before going back to his seat with a sigh.

“Hm,” Balthazar hummed after a moment. “Well, that was a rollercoaster. Did Lucien say how Gabe was doing?”

“No, just that he wanted to be left alone.”

Uriel frowned from his spot in the kitchen before coming up beside Sam. “Maybe he just needs some time alone” He whispered.

“And I’ll give it to him,” Sam said decidedly, nodding to himself. “If that’s what he needs, then he can have some time.”

Uriel frowned at Sam. “You know.. he might spend weeks refusing to see you” He mumbled softly.

“I know,” Sam sighed. “But I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to push him.”

“Just wait it out” Uriel shrugged and glanced back at the hall. “Gabe’s almost been the more emotional one” He confessed, putting a hand behind his neck.

Sam smiled and nodded in understanding. “I know. But it’s okay.”

Uriel nodded softly. “I’m sorry” He shrugged a little before checking his phone. “I need to get back to work soon” He whispered, walking to the hall. “I should probably check on him” He mumbled, frowning when he was able to hear Gabe’s sobbing through his door.

Sam bit his lip as he watched him go, then got up to follow him. “Should- should we knock?” He asked, looking over at Uriel and then to Lucien on the floor.

Lucien sighed and scratched at his head before carefully opening the door. “Gabe?” He asked softly, looking at the shaking mass on the bed. He sighed and moved over to sit at the edge of his bed, reaching over to put a hand on his shoulder. “Gabe-“

“Get out”

Lucien paused and frowned, squeezing his shoulder. “Uriel has to leave right now..” He whispered. 

Gabe glanced up at him before turning his eyes back to the bed. 

Uriel frowned in the doorway with Sam and sighed, debating on entering or not.

Sam licked his lips anxiously, inching a little closer to the door but not fully coming inside. “Gabe?” He called out softly.

Gabe tensed when he heard Sam’s voice, burying his face further into the pillow. “Gabe, listen to me” Lucien whispered to him, reaching over to pull his brother up, pulling the blanket with him. “You can’t be upset that Cas is getting married and you’re not yet” He mumbled softly. 

Gabe paused, blinking slowly. “Yet?” He mumbled. 

“You know Sam wants to marry you” Lucien grinned widely, holding him close. “You’re just not ready yet. And that’s okay. But if you really trust and love Sam, he’ll eventually ask you to marry him. But only if you get better for him” Lucien mumbled softly. 

Gabe stared at the wall in the dark, eyes trying to adjust in the semi-dark. “..Promise?”

Lucien glared at Sam and squinted with a frown. “I think so” He whispered, petting his hair. 

“..Okay” Gabe whispered, smiling a little.

Sam let out a soft breath in relief, smiling gently. "I want you to be ready before anything goes further, alright? I'm not here to overwhelm you." He then gestured down the hall. "Want me to bring your food back here?"

Gabe glanced at Sam like a scared child before pulling the blankets further over his head. “Gabe, you want your mozzarella sticks?” Lucien grinned widely, watching his brother’s face light up. “Alright, I’m gonna leave you with Sam and go get them” He grinned, moving away slowly to let Gabe get used to it. He gestured for Sam to take his place as he held onto Gabe’s shoulders, a hand subconsciously raising to pet his head again.

Sam hesitantly took a seat on the bed, picking at the fabric of his sling before resting his hand on his lap, unsure of what to say.

Lucien smiled as he very carefully eased Gabe into Sam’s shoulder, slowly backing up to walk out of his room and into the hallway so he could go and get Gabe’s food. 

Gabe sighed as he reached up to rub his eyes, not moving Sam’s shoulder.

Sam’s leg bounced for a moment, then stopped. “Are you feeling any better?” He asked softly.

Gabe sighed, moving to hug his knees. “I’m such a fucking dumbass” He mumbled, turning his head away so Sam couldn’t see him cry. “Why did I even think of proposing to you?” He whispered. “What did you do..”

“I..” Sam frowned, reaching up again to pick at the sling. “I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have."

“Why?” He whispered, leaning up to stare at his knees. “Why even try anymore?” He whispered. “There’s no point.. we’re just gonna keep fucking this up..” He sighed softly, giving in to look at Sam. “Do you even want to be with me anymore?” He asked, his lip quivering as he waited. “..After I became a mess and can’t even function anymore.. do you really want to marry that?” He whispered, his voice breaking as his eyes refused to leak tears, blurring his vision.

Sam stammered, then got off of the bed to crouch in front of him. "Of course I want to be with you, don't you dare think otherwise. I know I fucked up, but I'm trying to make it better. I'm sticking with you this time." He paused and took in a long breath to keep himself from crying with him, then dropped to sit on his knees. "If I could propose to you now, I would," he finished softly.

Gabe jumped, staring down at him in confusion, tears falling from his eyes as he searched Sam’s face. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it to press his lips together. He reached forward to grasp Sam’s head, lifting it to smile at him. He laughed a little as he cried, rubbing his thumb over Sam’s cheek. “..If you would propose to me now.. I would say yes” He smiled widely, sniffling a little.

Sam smiled softly back at him, rubbing his face for a second. “I can’t afford a ring for you,” he laughed softly, then sighed. “Yet.”

“God, Sam I don’t care about your money!” He cried loudly, pulling him up to stand in front of him. “You don’t need to give me a damn ring to show me your love.. Money doesn’t equal marriage” He mumbled and smiled widely, letting go of Sam to start rubbing at his eyes.

“No but.. it’s a nice thought. You with an engagement ring from me,” Sam shrugged with a small smile. “Don’t you think?”

Gabe glanced at Sam with a deep blush before turning away. “..Kind of” he mumbled softly. “But you know I don’t care about that crap” He tried to insist, his thoughts racing with all sorts of different ring ideas.

Sam shrugged again, staring into space for a moment as he thought to himself. “I know, I know. But maybe I already have money saved up.”

Gabe glared at Sam before shaking his head. “No you don’t” He mumbled softly. “Sam, tell me you’re joking right now”

Sam shook his head. “Not entirely. Still broke as hell. But I’ve got a little leftover sometimes so.. I stash it for things. I don’t have to use it for a ring if you don’t want one,” he finished quickly.

Gabe opened his mouth and glared at Sam with a frown. “I mean I do, but I don’t want you spending all your saved money” He mumbled and thought about it. “What if I just give you the money for it?” He asked softly. “Like, it doesn’t matter who bought it or how but the thought of it, right?” He asked softly.

“I s’pose, makes sense anyway,” Sam nodded, pursing his lips in thought before nodding to himself again. “I know you make a lot of money, but you don’t need to pay for anything. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Sam..” Gabe mumbled and sighed softly. “I love you.. but let me do this one thing” He whispered. “If not this, then at least help with just a little bit of stuff” He mumbled.

Sam gave a half-smile. "You really don't need to worry about it. But if it makes you feel better, go ahead."

Gabe nodded softly, moving forward to press a kiss to Sam’s lips. “Don’t think about it” He whispered, playing with Sam’s hair.

Sam nodded, leaning toward his hand a bit. “Alright,” He said, smiling a little more.

Gabe laughed softly before scratching his nails through Sam’s scalp. “I love you” He mumbled, kissing his forehead.

“I love you too,” Sam murmured back, sitting on the ground to lay his head on Gabe’s lap.

Gabe smiled contently, stroking his fingers through Sam’s hair.


	17. Chapter 17

Gabe took a breath with a laugh as he moved the guitar to way happily to their fans. “Thank you, New York!” He screamed, raising his hands happily. Maybe because they were three months into the tour and he hadn’t had any panic attacks yet since the day of Asmodeus.

“I’m ready for a nap” Lucien mumbled accidentally into the mic, making everyone in the crowd laugh.

“Naps are for people who finish their photo ops,” Michael teased, grinning at the crowd. “Make sure to make him exhausted so we don’t have to deal with him.”

Sam was standing backstage, fidgeting anxiously as he messed with the edge of his jacket pocket. He took in a deep breath and reached in to hold onto the small box inside, getting ready to head backstage before another wave of anxiety washed over him, causing him to take a couple of steps back. He groaned to himself, letting go of the box and walking over to the closest wall to rest his forehead against. “Dammit. This shouldn’t be this hard.”

“Seriously if you guys can exhaust him we’d love it” Gabe laughed his sentence before taking his guitar off. “And remember, to keep on schedule we can only take pictures for an hour” Gabe frowned. “So we really need to be in and out the whole hour so everybody has a fair chance” He frowned. “I think if we start early we’ll have until eleven” He mumbled half in the mic and half to himself as he began walking and packing up.

Sam straightened up and pulled a smile across his face as he listened to Gabe, patting his pocket to make sure the box was still there before going to greet him as he came backstage. “Hey! You guys did great tonight,” he said cheerily.

Gabe grinned widely. “Thanks, you too” He joked, taking ahold of Sam’s hand to pull him a little closer to kiss him. “No falls this time!” He laughed. 

“You say that every night” Lucien smiled, patting his head. “Now come on, we’ve got a few minutes to spare for the photoshoot” Lucien mumbled. 

Gabe frowned and smiled up at Sam. “Meet you on the bus?” He asked softly, already having to walk away with Lucien. “Good talk!” He called out.

Sam laughed a little and waved, then smacked himself in the head as he started heading back for the bus. He paused about halfway there, turned around where Gabe had been, and started hesitantly walking back in that direction.

Gabe was already taking pictures and trying to sign more than one thing at once, slowing down when he glanced at Sam. He smiled and turned back to smile with a fan for a picture. Sam smiled back at him, standing a little bit back from the crowd.

Gabe glanced back at him, quickly signing something before turning to Lucien to ask him something. He handed off the sharpie and turned to Sam, quickly coming up to him to take his hands. “Oh- you’re shaking” He frowned and looked up at Sam. “Are you okay?” He asked softly.

“What?” Sam looked down at his hands, brow furrowed. “Oh. I uh, I didn’t even realize.” He shook his head and smiled again. “Yeah, I’m fine. How’s it going out here?”

Gabe frowned and squeezed his hands. “Um, really busy so I do kind of have to go back..” He mumbled apologetically before smiling widely. “But I promise I’ll make time for you” He grinned widely.

“It’s alright,” Sam laughed softly. “Just figured I’d join you guys out here for once.”

“Oh,” Gabe tilted his head in confusion before smiling and glancing back at Lucien calling him over. “I’m sorry, I really do have to go” He frowned and raised himself on his toes to quickly kiss Sam before turning to run back to Lucien, almost knocking him over.

Michael raised an eyebrow, smiling quickly for another picture before turning to Gabe. “Thought he didn’t like it down here?”

Gabe shrugged as he handed back a picture for a fan. “Said he wanted to be down here with me. He was shaking pretty bad” He mumbled, leaning in with a fan for a picture and a hug.

“Hm,” Michael hummed, replacing his confused expression with a smile as he ducked into the frame to photobomb the background.

Gabe grinned before gasping and looking back at Michael. “Fuck off my pictures!” He laughed, shoving at his shoulders.

“Fuck your pictures,” Michael laughed as he backed off.

“Fuck your pictures, I’m the cuter brother” He stuck his tongue out before turning back to his fans, paying attention to them for a while.

Michael rolled his eyes and turned back to another group with a grin.

Sam hung back a bit, messing with the edge of his pocket as he watched the pictures being taken.

After an hour of physical stress on the brothers, Gabe was the first to realize it was time to go. He finished his picture and pulled Michael before he got into another picture. “Hey, we gotta go” He mumbled, gesturing in the direction of Sam.

Michael glanced over at him and nodded, saying goodbye to the last few groups before heading over with the rest of his brothers. “Well- that was fun.”

“I guess. I’m tired” Gabe complained, leaning against Sam’s arm, rubbing his face into his Sam as he hugged the arm in his pocket. “And cold.. I regret touring in the fall”

Sam smiled a little, taking his hand from his pocket to wrap his arm around him. “We’ll be back on the bus soon, don’t worry.”

Gabe grinned widely and wedged himself between Sam’s arm and chest. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk a lot this night” He mumbled.

“It’s alright, I’ll figure out a way to squeeze some time in,” Sam assured him, kissing the top of his head.

“Can we head back to the bus now? It’s cold out tonight,” Balthazar complained.

“Fuck you and let me have a moment!” Gabe snapped, squeezing at Sam’s chest before letting go of him. “I’m sorry you’re cold, but I'm not under here” He glared, taking ahold of Sam’s hand to start walking. 

“Testy. You know what whiners get. Carried like a baby-“ Lucien whispered, coming up from behind to grab Gabe around the waist and heave him over his shoulder. 

“No-“ Gabe panicked, easily becoming calm again, holding onto Lucien’s back. “Stop!” He laughed, shoving at Lucien’s shoulder. “Put me down!”

Sam laughed and shook his head, walking between Michael and Balthazar as they headed back.

“Children, aren’t they?” Michael joked, snorting when Sam nodded in agreement. “So what were you so shaky about earlier?”

“Huh?”

“Gabe told me you were shaking.”

“Oh. It’s nothing, I’ll be fine. Just nerves,” Sam shrugged in an attempt to change the subject.

“Fucking put me down!” Gabe screamed, pulling at Lucien’s hair. “Fucking put me down and don’t fucking touch me!” He snapped. 

“Ow- quit biting me!” Lucien cried, trying to put him down without him getting hurt. 

“Maybe you’ll learn not to fucking touch me!” He snapped, glaring at Lucien angrily as he was finally set down. He crossed his arms and moved back to walk next to Sam. 

“He drew fucking blood!” Lucien frowned.

“Gabriel,” Michael sighed heavily. “You don’t need to bite him. Just pull his hair,” he finished jokingly.

Gabe frowned at him and raised his shoulders more so he could walk away quicker, running to the bus as he ran in, instantly jumping onto the makeshift bed on the floor.

Lucien frowned, watching the blood bubble on his skin. “It was self-defense” He decided on and smiled. “We’ve done worse to each other”

“Yes. You’re both stupid,” Michael scoffed, patting his shoulder before heading in after Gabe. “Come on, it’s cold out.”

Lucien grumbled as he followed them, immediately falling into his own bed to kick his shoes off.

Sam sighed a little as he took his coat off, carelessly tossing it onto Gabe’s mattress before falling down next to him on their blankets. Gabe grinned widely, watching Sam. He kicked his shoes off and moved under Sam’s arm, tucking his head into Sam’s chest happily. Sam smiled as he let his eyes close, relaxing against him.

Gabe yawned softly and slowly fell asleep until he was woken up by someone yelling about pancakes. He glanced around slowly before realizing he was under Sam’s shirt again, snuggling further into his chest.

Sam didn’t wake up, merely curled in a little more with his arm resting over Gabe’s back.

Michael glanced in at them from the little table, then shrugged. “They’re still sleeping I guess.”

Lucien sighed and moved over a little in his chair. He stood up and grabbed a pillow from his bed to throw at them, only hitting Sam’s coat knocking it down. “Damn it” He muttered softly, going to pick up the pillow and jacket, hearing something hard fall. He frowned and looked down to find a ring box, realization hitting him. He quickly put it back into Sam’s pocket, setting it on the bed and slowly came back into the kitchen. “Michael-“ He whispered in an excited rush. “Mikey- Mike”

“Wha- what?” Michael responded, turning his head. “What’s got you so excited all of a sudden?”

Lucien smiled widely before leaning closer to whisper. “I found a wedding ring in Sam’s jacket” He pulled away and bit his lip a little.

Michael stared at him with his mouth open, face twitching into a smile. “Really? Shit, that must’ve been what freaked him out yesterday.”

Lucien nodded with a wide smile. “But don’t be too loud, I don’t know if they’re awake” He whispered softly and smiled.

Michael nodded. "I know. Think he'll get up to it soon?"

"Who's getting up to what soon?" Balthazar yawned as he walked by them to get pancakes for himself.

“You getting out of bed” Lucien laughed and glanced back at Michael with a shrug. “Couldn’t say” He whispered softly and turned to leave the kitchen, taking a pillow and aiming directly for Sam’s head.

"Gah-!" Sam jolted, voice slightly muffled by the pillow as it covered his face. "Jeez- I thought we were done with that wake-up call."

Gabe groaned, raising his head a little under the pillow to stare at Sam through the neck hole. “Shut up and go back to sleep” He mumbled. 

“Are we awake?” Lucien asked with a wide smile.

Sam grumbled, reaching up to rub his eyes and try and push his bedhead from his face. "Guess. Doesn't mean he'll let me."

Gabe grumbled in annoyance, opening his mouth to say something before biting at Sam’s chin and jawline.

"Ow- hey," Sam laughed a little, tilting his head back.

Gabe hummed as he bit at Sam’s neck before pressing soft kisses around the kiss, working his way to kissing under his ear.

Sam hummed softly, head tilting a little more. Michael rolled his eyes, standing up to grab a plate for himself. "Anyway, we'll be on the road for a while until our next stop."

Gabe paused to glance up at Michael before he shuffled out of Sam’s shirt and moved to lay with him again, hugging his neck as he kissed him with a wide smile. 

Lucien stuck his tongue out but walked past them to the kitchen to get his own breakfast.

Sam smiled against Gabe's lips, running his fingers through his hair before pulling back. "You want breakfast?"

Gabe pouted, staying close with his eyes closed. “Why can’t you be my breakfast” Gabe grumbled sleepily, trying to press more kisses to his mouth.

Sam laughed softly, sitting up with him and leaning back against the side of one of the beds in order to reach him better.

Gabe protested at the movements, wiggling and moving around until he was in Sam’s lap, staring up at him. “..Fuck you” He mumbled sleepily.

Sam snorted and tilted his head. "It's morning, time to be at least vaguely active."

Gabe blinked once before turning his head to lay against Sam’s shoulder. “Again, fuck you” He whispered, taking a calming breath before jolting up, moving to stand up and run into the kitchen.

Sam shook his head with a smile, then stood up to stretch and follow him.

“Have we decided we want food?” Lucien grinned. Gabe nodded and waited until Michael handed him a plate, immediately taking it to rip a piece off and eat. He stared down at his pancakes as he ripped off another piece to eat, glaring and growling at Lucien when he sat down a little too close. “Oh, you big baby” He muttered, moving over a little.

Michael scoffed as he sat down with his own plate. “So, anybody have plans for once we get to our next place?” He asked casually, catching Sam’s eye as he passed to pick up a plate.

Gabe nodded with a smile. “I’m stopping for my California keychain” He grinned widely. “I’m hoping LA isn’t as hot as last time” He mumbled and smiled at Sam. “What are your plans for LA?” He asked with a cute smile.

Sam glanced at him, hesitating before cracking a smile. "Oh, uh, not a lot really," he shrugged, looking away to pick at his pancakes. "Hopefully we can get some more time together, though."

“Aww!” Gabe laughed softly and grinned at Sam, moving to press a soft kiss to his face. “You’re so cute”

Sam laughed a little and shrugged. "I love watching you perform, don't get me wrong. But I wanna take you out somewhere besides the bus."

Gabe snorted and picked apart his pancake, eating the excess until it was the show of a heart. “I really appreciate that. Where do you wanna go?” He asked, spinning his plate around to show Sam and his brothers. Lucien did not appreciate it.

Sam snorted and smiled at the pancake, then sat to take a minute to think to himself. “Dunno, I haven’t stuck around LA much. Just, somewhere nice. But not so fancy that we’re uncomfortable.”

“We could go anywhere” He mumbled, opening his phone. “We’re going to El Rey” He mumbled, looking around on a map. “Tierra Caliente, something Mexican” He frowned, looking around more. “Tacos- Tacos.. Durango’s Bakery” He mumbled in an interested tone. 

“You’re gonna love being with Gabe. He does thorough research on foods and restaurants” He grinned. 

“If it’s peanut-free” He mumbled, scrolling slowly through something.

"I've noticed, I've started picking up on it when I look through restaurants," Sam nodded, shifting a little in his spot and stealing a glance back at his jacket before returning his attention to Gabe. "We'll double-check whenever we decide on one, yeah?"

“Sounds good” Gabe mumbled and set his phone down with a frown before poking his pancake. 

“What’s wrong?” Lucien frowned at him. 

“I don’t actually know if I have time to do it all” He admitted softly, glancing at Sam. 

“Don’t worry about practice. We barely have to do anything anyway” Lucien smiled widely. 

Gabe laughed and glanced at Sam. “Well, that gives us three hours” He smiled widely. “What to do first..”

"Sightseeing?" Sam suggested, tilting his head. "I traveled a lot when my dad went looking for jobs, I remember a couple of places.. Vaguely."

Gabe nodded and looked up a few places before pausing to put his phone away. “I think we should just walk around and find what we find” He smiled, chewing on his pancake again before pushing it in the center of the table. “Hey Michael, are we doing anything this morning?” Gabe asked. “Or I guess, when’s our first scheduled thing that I have to be at?”

"Um.." Michael paused as he swiped through his phone, squinting at the screen. "Next stop is around four-ish, we need to get our equipment set up on stage, make sure everything works with the speakers and such," he noted. "So, from around four to five, we need to be setting up. Then we can probably practice if we think we need to. Warming up can wait until a little before the show starts at eight. You've got a good three hours to go out."

“So basically we’ve got seven hours starting now to literally dick around and do nothing?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

"I mean.. basically. But we're still stuck on the bus," Michael nodded with a light shrug.

“Perfect” Gabe whispered, taking Lucien’s coffee to take a sip before standing up. He walked back into the room with the beds and flopped on the ground, watching sams jacket fall. He smiled, pulling it closer to hug around himself, smelling it before getting comfortable enough to sleep. 

Lucien slid his coffee back across the table and smiled at Sam. “So is this tour a little more fun than the last one?” He asked.

"Yeah, actually, since I've spent a little longer with it," Sam nodded, faltering and nearly dropping his plate when he turned his head and noticed Gabe. "Um- uh, yeah, it's uh, it's great."

Michael looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

"Never better," Sam blurted, forcing a smile on his face as he set his plate down.

Lucien frowned and looked over at Gabe and frowned. He instantly realized and cleared his throat playing it off. “What’s wrong? Is Gabe okay?” He asked softly, craning his neck.

"He's- he's f-fine," Sam stammered, feeling his heart jump in his chest as Gabe shifted in his sleep. "He's fine, it's fine. I'm just uh, just wondering when I can get my jacket back is all, no big deal."

"You can just.. wake him up," Balthazar told him in confusion.

"Hm, no, let him sleep, we'll be up late," Michael shook his head, glancing at Lucien knowingly once he'd seen Gabe.

Lucien smirked a little and watched them. “You see really protective over your jacket” Lucien mumbled, teasing him now.

"I'm not, I'm not," Sam responded hastily. "I'm not, it's fine, just uh, I'm kinda.." He trailed off, unable to find an excuse as he pressed his lips together anxiously.

".. Okay? It's not a big deal, mate," Balthazar raised his eyebrows at him as he backed away. "I'm gonna.. take a shower. You deal with that."

Gabe kicked at the pillows at the end of the bed in his sleep, hugging the hood tightly so he could smell it in his sleep, pressing it to his nose. 

Lucien watched with confusion before getting up to put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Look. He’s not getting sick again.. He just needed some extra rest probably and likes to smell you. Not that weird I guess, but it’s Gabe so..” He mumbled and shrugged.

Sam nodded and let out a sigh. "I know, I- I know that, it's um, it's not that."

"Care to tell us about it?" Michael asked in a casual tone, leaning forward over the table.

“Does this jacket have like, some amazing soft lining?” He laughed and smiled at Gabe’s figure in the bed. “Take a breath. Talk to us about it” Lucien smiled. “You might even be our brother in law one day” He smiled, definitely poking the bear.

Sam jumped and snapped his head around to face him, eyes wide. "U-um- you-" He stopped himself, raising a hand to scratch nervously at his arm.

"Something important in there?" Michael prompted, gesturing for him to go on.

".. You could.. say that," Sam mumbled, turning back to watch the jacket.

Lucien smiled and tilted his head a little before looking at Gabe and back to Sam. “Is it your porn?” He joked softly before laughing softly as to not wake Gabe up.

"No," Sam snorted, shaking his head before taking in a breath. "I um.. I saved up for a ring for him."

Lucien smiled widely and placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. He leaned in a little to glare at him before whispering. “We know” He then smiled and let go to get his cup of coffee.

Sam stared at him, then narrowed his eyes. "You're a dick."

“Hey, I’m the oldest so if I very much wanted to tell you no, I could tell you that you don’t have permission” Lucien mumbled loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough to not disturb Gabe. “So don’t fuck with me boy” He squinted.

Sam blinked a couple of times. "Right, well, that wouldn't stop me. I could always.. ask him anyway." He paused. "Assuming I don't.. freak out again."

“Again?” Lucien asked, sitting back down and pulling a chair out for Sam. “You mean you’ve already tried?” He asked.

"Um.. yeah, I was.. I was gonna do it last night, after the show," Sam nodded with a sheepish smile. "And, obviously, didn't get around to it."

"So that WAS why you were shaking so much," Michael said suddenly, gesturing to Gabe. "He noticed too."

Gabe shifted a little and sat up, taking the pillow from his bed to throw aimlessly into the kitchen. He laid his head back down before he could see it pathetically hit the chair and land near Michael’s feet. 

Lucien frowned and glanced at Michael. “Guess we’re being too loud” He whispered.

".. Oops," Michael shrugged, waving his hand dismissively. "He'll get over it. But anyway, are you making new plans or something?"

Sam nodded. "I'm thinking tonight, at some point. I guess now if I try and chicken out, there're two people that won't let me."

Lucien smirked widely and laughed under his breath. “I’ll call you on stage and make sure you can’t leave” He smirked. “Or have the bodyguards force you to do it”

Sam snorted and sighed. "Sure, but I don't think that'll be necessary. Unless I freeze up. Then someone push me."

“Oh, we’ll give you some nudges” Lucien grinned widely, nudging him with his arm. “I’ll drag you by your fucking barbie hair”

"Got it, got it," Sam laughed softly, leaning over the table.

Gabe reaches up to rub his eyes, yawning softly as he rolled over on the bed, only hugging the hood and sleeve close to him. Lucien watched him, carefully standing up to come over quietly, waiting a moment for Gabe to still before he was searching the pockets, leaving quietly as he’s come with the ring, offering it to Sam with a sigh. “You’re welcome” He whispered.

Sam smiled gratefully, taking the ring box and fidgeting with it in his lap. "Thanks."

"What's it look like?" Michael asked curiously, leaning over to see the box.

"The ring?" Sam shook his head. "Gotta wait. You'll see it later tonight."

“Will we?” Lucien whispered softly with a smirk, taking another sip of his coffee.

Sam took a tight hold on the box and nodded. “Yep.”

Lucien smiled softly at this and patted his shoulder. “Are we almost there yet?” He complained to Michael.

“No. It’s hardly noon,” Michael sighed. “I told you, around four.”

“What are we gonna do for four hours?” He muttered and pouted a little.

“I don’t know. Road trip games?” Michael shrugged as he finished his pancakes and set the plate in the sink.

“Original” Lucien mumbled softly and glanced at Gabe on the floor. “I like his idea” He laughed softly. “Sitting and talking for hours can be boring”

“Fair enough,” Michael shrugged, flopping down on his bed and pulling out his phone.

“Hey, the best way to pass time is with sleep. Or keeping the driver company,” Sam nodded.

“He doesn’t like to be talked to while driving. Says it distracts him” Lucien laughed softly and turned to sit on the floor beside Michael’s bed. “So Sam.. how long exactly have you been trying to..” He trailed off and gestured to Gabe.

Sam glanced at him, smiling a little and fiddling with the box again. “.. Little over a month. Every time I go to, I just.. don’t.”

Lucien frowned and rubbed Sam’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Gabe waited a year to do it because he was too nervous” He laughed softly. “But I think you’ll be alright, after all, you’re both twenty now. You’re not a blushing teen anymore” He joked.

Sam laughed and nodded. “I guess. Now I’m just an awkward adult.”

“Congrats Sam, welcome to the adult world” Lucien teased, patting his shoulder.

“Pshh, I broke in when I was seventeen,” Sam said half-jokingly.

“You broke in?” He laughed softly. “How..?” He mumbled.

“Uh, I kinda- maybe, sort of left home so I could go to college,” Sam shrugged, looking back down at the box. “And also, just so I could get the hell out.”

Lucien frowned and stared at Sam before glancing at Michael. “Well.. If it’s what you thought was right, it must’ve been..” He paused before his eyes widened. “Uh- Are you still in college?” He asked. “Because it’s uh.. about college season”

“I’m trying to save up more money,” Sam shrugged. “Next year.”

“How’d you get in the first time?” Lucien tilted his head curiously.

“Loans, mostly, to get me through my first year,” Sam replied.

Lucien nodded a little and smiled at him. “What’d you go in for?” He asked. 

“Sam went to jail?” Gabe asked softly, holding Sam’s jacket to his chest as he rubbed his eyes, making his way into the kitchen.

Sam immediately set the box under his legs to hide it, then laughed. “No, I went into pre-law.”

“Oh,” Gabe mumbled, sitting on the table across from Sam. “That makes more sense. Hey, did you want your jacket back?” He asked, holding it up a little.

Sam shook his head with a smile. “Nah, I don’t have anything in it so do whatever with it.”

“Okay cool” Gabe mumbled, raising it to pull it on the table to lay on it. 

Lucien grinned widely and couldn’t hold back his laugh, immediately covering his mouth. “I’m sorry” He laughed softly.

“For what? I’ve got everything I need,” Sam snorted.

“I know” Lucien mumbled softly. 

“And what’s that?” Gabe asked sleepily from against the table, not lifting his head.

“Nothing, just the essentials I carry around,” Sam shrugged dismissively.

“Whatever” Gabe whispered softly before burying his face in Sam’s jacket. “So where do you wanna go when we stop?” He smiled softly, looking up at Sam.

“Out into town, just to browse around,” Sam said, nodding to himself. “We can find your keychain while we’re out.”

Gabe excitedly lifted his head before remembering they were still on the bus. “Yeah in like four hours” He sighed softly, rubbing at his head.

“Little less now, but yes,” Sam smiled. “Do you have anywhere you want to go?”

Gabe nodded softly. “A pizza place hopefully. I really want more mozzarella sticks” He admitted. 

“You’ve had them at least once a week this whole tour” Lucien laughed. 

“Yeah, and mozzarella sticks are good!” He insisted, waking up more finally.

Sam laughed and shook his head. “If we can eat there. We still have to be careful.”

Gabe frowned at Sam and glanced away with a pout. “Why am I the only brother with a peanut allergy?” He muttered, glaring at Michael and Lucien. “You two took the better genes that made me get stuck with shitty ones” He complained.

"Not our fault you're the youngest," Michael deadpanned without looking up from his phone. "You got last pick."

Sam snorted, rolling his eyes and shifting as the small box under his leg grew a little uncomfortable. "It's alright, we just need to make sure it's safe."

Gabe frowned and nodded. “Yeah.. Is Balthazar still in the shower?” He asked suddenly, turning around to look at the door. “Because it’s my turn” He muttered, staring down the door.

Just then, the door opened and Balthazar stepped out with a huff, rubbing his still-wet hair with his towel. "Sorry, got distracted by my phone after I got dressed. Didn't use all the hot water."

Gabe glared before smiling and moving to get his own clothes. “I.. will back later” Gabe grinned, walking past him and closing the door behind him. 

As soon as Lucien heard the water running he turned to Sam and smiled. “Come on, you have to show it to us” He whispered excitedly.  
"Yeah, you can't hide it from us forever," Michael pointed out.

"Hide what?" Balthazar asked, brow furrowed as he glanced between them. "Are you still talking about.. whatever it was you were talking about before my shower?"

Lucien glanced at the bathroom door and gestured for Balthazar to come closer. “Yeah, but I think it’d be better for Sam to tell you” He grinned, leaning over to Sam. “So come on, show us”

"I-" Sam cut himself off with an annoyed sigh. "Fine." A small smile grew on his face as he opened the box. He sat staring at the ring for a second before turning it around to show the others, revealing a silver ring with little white gemstones lining part of the bottom, and an orange fire opal heart above them.

"Wait- wait wait wait," Balthazar started, tripping forward to see. "Are you- is he proposing?"

Lucien immediately smacked a hand over Balthazar’s mouth and glanced at the bathroom door. “Shh,” He smiled and turned to look at the ring, leaning over the table. “He is.. And Gabe’s going to love this” He mumbled, smiling at the gemstone. “But why orange?” Lucien asked.

Sam shrugged a little, still smiling down at it. "Closest I could find to his eyes, with opals anyway."

“Aww!” Lucien grinned at it. “I will admit, out of all the shitty genes Gabe got.. he has literal orange eyes, so I don’t see how bad that is” He joked.

"I think they're more gold.. or like whiskey. But I really liked the opal look," Sam nodded.

"He'll love it," Michael assured him with an uncharacteristically bright grin, patting his shoulder. "I'm sure he will."

“How come our baby brothers are getting married out and we’re just bait for them” Lucien complained. “I mean, I get that the drummer isn’t the cute one, but come on! ..I’m tall. I’m the oldest” He mumbled. “Someone love me other than my twin” He whispered.

"Hm, debatable," Michael joked, then shook his head. "I don't know. Is there no one at home you're remotely interested in?"

Lucien made a face and glanced away with a frown. “..Never date a girl from home” He muttered and shivered a little.


	18. Chapter 18

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go” Gabe shrugged to Sam and quickly kissed him before running on stage with his brothers to set up. He smiled widely as he watched to LA and started plugging his guitar in to test the gentle strum of chords. 

Lucien took this time to stare at Sam, nodding a little as he smiled, nodding his head to Gabe.

Sam swallowed and nodded, taking in a breath. He takes a step in Gabe's direction, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Tensing, he glances over at Lucien with wide eyes, one hand hesitantly reaching into his jacket pocket.

Lucien gestured to him with a gentle smile, frowning when Gabe began playing something louder. He glanced at Gabe and smiled apologetically to him, drumming something along. 

“Are we ready LA?!” Gabe laughed brightly into the mic, putting his hands up. He grinned, listening to the crowd cheer loudly, the audience being a lot bigger than other places.

Sam groaned a little at himself, knocking his hand into his head. Sighing, he stood mostly offstage, watching Gabe with an anxious smile as they started playing. He had thought that this would be easier, since he had the brothers' support, but this- somehow- was even more nerve-wracking than it had been.

Michael glanced at Lucien, gesturing to Sam in confusion by tilting his head in his direction. Lucien shook his head to let him know it won’t be happening and glanced back at Sam, giving him a reassuring smile. He nodded to Sam before having to turn back to the crowd. And two and a half hours passed. Just like that. Lucien was done and able to rest his arms. Gabe stepped back, out of breath with a happy smile. 

Gabe turned to Michael gave him a thumbs up before carefully taking his guitar off his shoulders. “You’ve all been a wonderful crowd” Gabe spoke breathlessly. 

Lucien looked to Sam and gestured, trying to get him to go before standing up to walk backstage himself. “Come on,” He whispered with a wide smile.

"I- I-" Sam stammered, catching his eye and drawing in a long breath before giving him an affirming nod. He clutched the box with his hand still in his pocket, then let it go and started out onto the stage. "Gabe!"

Gabe glanced up to stare at Sam with a small smile. “Sam?” He asked, setting his guitar down to meet him halfway onto the stage. “Sam- What’s wrong?” He asked softly, his mic picking just enough of it up to make the fans worry.

“Nothing, nothing,” Sam insisted softly, shaking his head as he reached forward to take his hands. “Nothing’s wrong.” He smiled anxiously, glancing at the crowd before taking another breath and looking at Gabe. “You know I love you, don’t you?”

Gabe frowned at this, squeezing Sam’s hands tightly. “..Yes” He mumbled softly, feeling a faint pain in his chest from months ago. “Sam..” He trailed off, looking up at him anxiously.

“And- and I’m really happy with you. Really happy, and I’m- I’m hoping you feel the same way and uh, um, I think that you’ve helped me through a lot, I think we both have,” Sam said in a half-rambling tone, shaking a little and gently squeezing his hands. “So um- I- I want to uh-“ He stopped talking for a minute, keeping his smile up as he let go of his hands to pull the small black box from his pocket.

Gabe frowned at the loss of contact, looking down to stare at Sam’s hands. His own hands came together to fidget nervously in front of his chest. He stared at the box, his chest painfully tight. “You want to...?” He asked softly, looking back into Sam’s eyes.

Sam nodded, gripping the box before dropping down on one knee. “Gabriel Novak,” he started, looking up at him nervously as he opened the ring box. “Will you marry me?”

Gabe stared back at him with shock in his eyes. He stood still for a couple of seconds before he began to cry. He laughed softly, reaching up rub his eyes. “I-“ He began, smiling down at Sam happily. He nodded softly before nodding vigorously. He bent down to take ahold of Sam’s head, kissing him quickly as he pulled Sam back up. “Yeah- Yes.. Yes” He rambled.

Sam jumped to his feet with a huge grin, pulling him in for a kiss before hugging him tightly as the audience cheered loudly in the background.

Gabe held him tightly around the neck, gripping at the back of Sam’s jacket before pulling away. He slid his hands to the front of Sam’s chest to smile up at him. “I love you” He blurted carelessly, hand sliding up to pull him in for another kiss.

Sam took a moment to kiss him back, then pulled away with a soft laugh. “I love you too,” he said happily, resting his hand over top of Gabe’s.

Gabe laughed softly, moving his hand to intertwine with Sam’s. He smiled, basking in the afterglow a little too much. 

Lucien cleared his throat and leaned over into the mic, mumbling “Put the ring on him” He smiled as he leaned back and waved to Gabe’s blushing face.

Sam laughed, squeezing his hand before bringing his left one closer to slide the ring onto his finger, snorting as he heard Michael’s and Balthazar’s whooping cheers behind him.

Gabe laughed loudly, pulling his hand away to look at it, immediately grinning. “Fire opal!” He smiled, rubbing his finger over the stone. “I don’t even deserve you” Gabe laughed softly, hugging Sam around his neck again.

Sam closed his eyes as he hugged him tightly in returned, a huge grin still on his face. “I’ve been saving up for a while.. I know you said not to but I wanted to do something for you.”

“So you propose?!” Gabe laughed, admiring the ring for another second before looking up at Sam. “You really know how to spoil someone..” He grinned widely.

“I s’pose,” Sam shrugged, snorting. “I don’t regret it.”

“You suppose?” Gabe laughed softly before shifting his hand around to see the gem. “..I’m so happy you chose me” He whispered, looking back up at Sam. “Thank you..” He whispered, hands playing with the front of Sam’s chest.

“Of course. I love you,” Sam said again, resting his forehead against Gabe’s before finally noticing the audience as they cheered loudly. “Should we go so you can get to your photo op?” He asked with a laugh, straightening up and gesturing to the fans.

Gabe frowned and glanced at them anxiously before looking up at Sam. “How dare you do this to me and then make me leave you!” He cried so the mic could hear it. “I might actually cry” He complained, frowning up at Sam.

Sam glanced at them with a half thoughtful, half anxious expression, then back to Gabe. “I could.. come with you. I’ve never really joined you in pictures.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to” He whispered. “I know you don’t like it” He smiled, squeezing his hands. “You should get to the tour bus and rest a bit.. I know how anxious you can get” He whispered. “Besides, it’ll make the reunion sweeter” He joked, hugging him tightly one last time.

Sam hugged him back, standing there with him for a second before moving his arms down a little in order to lift him up and begin carrying him offstage. Gabe squealed at first in fear, then in laughter, holding onto Sam’s shirt. 

“Hey- Gabe!” Lucien rushed off stage to follow after them “Give me my brother back!”

Michael hurried after him, grabbing the back of his shirt to try and stop him. “Come on Lu, they’re fine, see?”

Lucien smiled as he watched Sam walk around with Gabe on his shoulder. “..Yeah” He mumbled and laughed softly. “I guess they are huh?” He mumbled. 

“Put me down!” Gabe laughed softly, trying not to kick his legs and hurt Sam.

Sam laughed, squeezing his sides before setting him down, leaving an arm out to help steady him.

Gabe laughed, staying close to hug him a little. “Sam, I’ve gotta go” He whispered, pressing kisses to his cheeks and corners of his mouth. “I’m sorry” He laughed softly.

Sam whined a little but nodded in understanding. “I’ll be waiting on the bus, okay?” He said with a smile.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be the first one back,” Balthazar teased as he and the rest of their brothers headed off of the stage.

“I’ll see you as soon as I can” He whispered excitedly, leaning up to kiss him again. “I promise” He mumbled. And boy did he. As soon as his two hours were up he was leaving his brothers well behind. Lucien had to the idea to film it, watching his brother almost run into the door before scrambling inside. “Sam!” He yelled, happily jumping at his fiancé’s neck to hug him. Lucien laughed as he caught up to them, smiling at the way Gabe was hanging off of him.

“Ah- Hey!” Sam laughed, wriggling around to hug him tightly before nearly falling over.

Gabe grinned widely from his place where he was tucked into Sam’s neck. “Thanks, Sam, now I have to deal with this all tour” Lucien laughed.

“You’re welcome,” Sam snorted, resting his chin on Gabe’s head. “I’m not sorry.”

Gabe hummed contently before pulling away and putting his feet back on the ground, hugging Sam’s chest. “I’m not either” He mumbled softly.

Sam smiled, relaxing against him and still not having noticed Lucien recording. “Nope. Never.”

“Gross” Lucien whispered, stopping the video to put it on their twitter. 

“Hey, that’s my boyfriend so be nice” He whispered with a soft pout.

"Fiancé now," Sam corrected cheerily, then looked up at Lucien with a smirk. "Hey new brother, how's it going?"

Gabe smiled softly, face turning a soft shade of pink as he giggled happily. Lucien smiled softly at the two of them and nodded. “I’m doing good. I’m glad Gabe is happy in this engagement. He’s a lot more cheerful” Lucien rambled, pinching Gabe’s cheeks. Gabe laughed softly, tilting his head with a wide smile.

“We both are,” Sam said in agreement, still holding Gabe in a hug.

Gabe laughed childishly before sinking back into Sam’s chest. “Come on, I’m getting really tired, can we nap?” He asked softly, looking up to smile at Sam.

Sam snorted and nodded, glancing at the time. "We can sleep, it's late and you've been performing," he nodded, starting to shuffle toward the blankets.

"You guys go on a sleep, we probably will soon, too," Michael said, yawning after he finished his sentence. "Emphasis on soon."

Gabe smiled, taking off his shoes and crawling under the blankets to lay with Sam. He glanced at his ring and hesitated, laying his hand in his lap. He frowned and kicked off his jeans to lay in boxers before grabbing shorts from his bag to put on under the blanket. “Alright,” He grinned, moving closer to Sam’s side.

Sam smiled as he shifted closer, having changed into sweatpants while Gabe was changing, and laid an arm over top of him. “Hm.. sleep now,” he yawned.

Gabe grinned widely, snuggling into Sam’s chest happily. He buried his face into Sam’s neck, hands feeling over Sam’s chest. “..I love you” He whispered again. “So much..”

"I love you too," Sam murmured back, burying part of his face into Gabe's hair. "Can't wait to officially, officially be with you."

Gabe smiled widely into Sam’s chest, hands going lower to weasel their way under Sam’s shirt. “..You’re just tired. Go to sleep Samshine” He whispered.

Sam laughed a little, shifting before relaxing again, letting out another yawn. “Tired, But it’s still true.”

Gabe smiled widely as he lifted his head to press a kiss to his mouth. “I know” He whispered softly, pressing more kisses to Sam’s lips under he was removing his hand from Sam’s shirt to hold his neck to kiss him.

Sam hummed softly, raising one hand to run through Gabe’s hair, then moving it to hold Gabe’s hand. Gabe practically opened his mouth for Sam, hand squeezing Sam’s as he was pressed into the pillows under his head. He let his free hand run down Sam’s chest, squeezing and tugging at Sam’s shirt collar. Sam huffed a little, moving one leg over top of Gabe’s as he pressed the both of them as close as was comfortable.

Gabe stopped when he heard one of his brothers yawn, pulling him from his daze. He smiled at Sam’s cute little pout, but couldn’t bask too long in it. “We can’t do this here” He whispered softly, gesturing to his siblings. “..Let’s wait until we get off tour.. and we spend a couple of nights at your place?” He suggested. “Do you like that idea?” He whispered into his ear, lips dragging down his cheek.

Sam closed his eyes and nodded, opening his eyes again with a small smile. "Sounds great," he murmured in a low tone, then sat in thought for just a moment. "Speaking of my place, though.. I know you practically live there already, but would you want to live there more permanently?"

Gabe grinned widely at him and bent up to carefully kiss him again. “You tell a guy you want to have sex and he already wants you to move you” Gabe joked, mostly to himself before nodding. “Yes.. I’d love that.. a lot” He whispered.

Sam’s smile grew wider, and he leaned forward to kiss his forehead before laying back into the pillows. “I can’t wait.”

Gabe held onto Sam’s chest before bringing a hand up to Sam’s neck, playing with his lip. “For which one?” He laughed softly.

Sam shrugged and laughed a little. “More just the aspect of being with you, since we won’t have to worry about touring for a while.”

Gabe frowned a little as he hugged Sam around the neck, looking up into his eyes. “..About that” He whispered softly, hands anxiously twirling in Sam’s hair. “We’re um.. kind of going on a winter tour” He whispered. “It’s only for three months-“ He tried to recover, smiling. “And I’ll be around with you until mid-November.. but I don’t.. know.. if we’ll be home for Christmas” He whispered softly, looking down.

“Oh,” Sam uttered, smile faltering slightly, then reappearing. “Well.. I’ll wait for you. We can call each other if you aren’t too tired.”

Gabe smiled widely, snuggling closer into Sam’s chest to finally relax. “I’ll try to” He whispered softly. “But it’ll be a tight schedule” He warned.

“I know, I get it,” Sam nodded, resting his chin over Gabe’s head and closing his eyes. “We’ll figure stuff out.”

“Yeah..” Gabe whispered softly, fingers tangling themselves in Sam’s sweatshirt strings. He yawned and pressed himself closer to Sam’s neck, easily falling asleep. 

Lucien smiled down at them in the morning, bringing the blanket up to cover a little more of them before he went to the kitchen to find their eggs.

Michael woke up soon after, glancing at them before walking towards Lucien. “Morning,” he mumbled, slumping over at the table.

“Morning” Lucien grinned, cracking an egg and tossing the shell in the trash. “How many eggs?” He asked softly, turning the fire up. “Or are we doing scrambled?”

“Two. Fried,” Michael responded, reaching up to rub his eyes.

Lucien smiled widely as he moved the eggs around in the pan, easily flipping it over to put another egg in the pan.

Balthazar grunted from his bed, then rolled over until he was sitting on the floor. “Ugh- what’s food today?” He mumbled, looking up at them tiredly.

“The souls of the unborn” Lucien mumbled, flipping the other egg to wait a few seconds.

“Oh, cool. Sunnyside up,” Balthazar responded, flopping his face back down on his mattress.

Lucien grinned as he moved two to a plate, immediately starting two more before giving Michael his. “Toasts should pop up soon” He mumbled.

“Mhm,” Michael nodded, then glanced in at Gabe and Sam. “What do those two want?”

“I’ll ask them when they’re awake” Lucien suggested, looking back at them with a wide smile. “They seem happy”

Balthazar nodded as he lifted his head. “I can tell. Happiest I’ve seen them as of late.”

“Especially Gabe” Lucien noted, poking at the edge of the egg with the spatula. “I haven’t seen him this happy since he was asking Sam to spend the night” He laughed softly.

“Same,” Balthazar snorted. “And he was pretty excited then.”

“I remember when he went out with him the first time,” Michael nodded. “He came to ask me if he should go. Seemed happy but nervous.”

“Let’s admit it. Gabe got stuck with shitty allergies, but he’s the cutest out of all of us” He smiled, bringing Balthazar’s plate to him.

“Psh, sure, Alright,” Michael laughed, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry. Are you, the twin of me, saying you’re cuter than Gabe?” Lucien teased, smirking a little.

“Maybe I am, I’ve got my self-confidence,” Michael snorted.

“Yeah, that’s really small” Lucien muttered softly, smiling softly at him.

“Psh, I didn’t come here to be called out,” Michael scoffed, waving him off.

“You kind of did” Lucien grinned widely. 

Gabe yawned a little at his brothers' bickering, glancing up at them before looking down to stare at Sam’s face. He smiled widely, gently poking his cheeks to wake him up before leaning forward to kiss him softly.

Sam’s nose wrinkled a little in his sleep at the poking, only peeking one eye open once Gabe had pulled back from him. “Hm- mornin',” he mumbled, reaching up to rub the sleep from his eyes. “I smell eggs.”

“Lucien is probably making eggs” Gabe grinned widely, pressing soft kisses to Sam’s lips. “You want some babe?” He asked softly.

Sam nodded, smiling softly as he leaned forward to kiss him again before slowly sitting up.

“Welcome to the land of the living,” Balthazar said jokingly. “Go place an order to Lucien before he finishes up.”

“No..” Gabe frowned, reaching up for Sam’s chest. “Stay with me” He whispered a complaint. 

“I just made two eggs and one scrambled because I know Gabe likes to add syrup with it” Lucien called out to them. 

Gabe hummed a little, leaning up just slightly to tug on Sam’s shirt.

Sam smiled as he laid back down, shifting until he was comfortable next to Gabe again. “We’re gonna have to get up at some point.”

Gabe smiled, snuggling in closer before moving under Sam’s hoodie to lay inside of it, arms hugging Sam’s sides. “I know” He whispered softly, easily getting sleepy again. “But this way... you can be close to me while I sleep” He whispered, drifting off more.

“We just slept Gabe,” Sam laughed softly. Gabe hummed intellectually, snoring softly as he fell back asleep inside Sam’s hoodie. He shifted his leg a little to wrap over Sam’s waist but stayed still after he fell asleep. Sam smiled and shook his head, then looked up at the three brothers standing closest to the kitchen. “So What’d we miss this morning?”

Lucien shrugged. “Gabe’s old nickname for eggs” He smiled softly before turning back to the stove. to continue scrambling the eggs around.

Sam tilted his head as much as he could from his position. “Which is..?”

“Souls of the unborn,” Michael replied in a deadpan tone.

“.. Ah. I guess?” Sam laughed in confusion.

Gabe yawned in his position, wiggling further into Sam’s chest as he slept. “Yeah” Lucien laughed softly, setting Sam’s plate on the table, leaving Gabe’s on the counter. “He was just a kid” Lucien shrugged.

Sam snorted and shrugged slightly. “Eh, kids say weird shit.”

“Gabe used to ask if when he donated his hair if someone committed a murder with his hair, if he would be arrested or not. Noted, this coming from a six-year-old” Lucien smiled.

“He asked the strangest questions,” Michael agreed with a laugh. “We could probably come up with a list.”

“Eh-.. Let’s not” Lucien mumbled, pushing the scrambled eggs into a bowl. “He asked a lot of stuff about mom and dad. Hey Sam, food’s ready.” He mumbled after them, setting Sam and Gabe’s plates next to each other.

Sam nodded, then looked down at Gabe with a soft smile. “Hey, don’t you want to eat?”

Gabe stayed sleeping inside his hoodie, head tilted back a little where the neck hole was, lips pressed to Sam’s neck from the closeness. 

“Looks like he’s out cold” Lucien smiled at his brother.

“Well, I can’t get up then,” Sam snorted, sighing as he laid back in defeat.

Lucien snorted and patted the table. “You can’t pick him up?” Lucien asked with a small smile.

“If I do I still won’t be able to eat, kinda need my hands for that,” Sam pointed out.

“Sit down with him then” Lucien laughed at just the thought of it. “Oh my god you’re gonna look ridiculous” He wheezed.

“Ha ha, fuck you,” Sam scoffed, shifting a little so that he could sit up with Gabe, leaning back against a bed.

Gabe whined sleepily as he was moved, moving his head back under the hoodie to lay against Sam’s chest. “Don’t wake him up” Lucien wheezed again, tears forming in his eyes. “Just.. pick him up. He likes to be carried” He laughed softly, having to walk further into the kitchen to calm himself down.

“I- what’s that gonna help?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m gonna have to hold onto him unless he wakes up.”

“The hoodie will hold him” Lucien choked out as he turned off the oven and sighed softly, trying to calm himself down again. “This is why we never get shit done” He whispered.

“Ya think?” Sam laughed. “It’s almost ten-thirty anyway.”

Lucien sighed softly and smiled at Michael. “Just bring him in here” Lucien called from behind his phone.

“Sure, fine,” Sam huffed, grunting as he lifted him up and headed toward the little kitchen.

Balthazar jumped as his phone rang, then brought it up to his ear as he answered. “Hey Cas, what’s- oW fuck!” He said suddenly, jerking the phone away from his face and pressing the speaker button. “Wanna repeat that without screaming in my ear?”

“Apologies, but did Sam really propose?!” Cas asked in a loud, excited tone.

Lucien laughed softly as he stopped the video and rushed over to Balthazar with a smile. “Hey, Cas!” He grinned. 

Gabe whined and shifted around inside Sam’s hoodie at all the noise, moving his hands to rub his eyes angrily. “What are you doing?” He grumbled into Sam’s chest, nuzzling his hair against his shirt.

“Trying to get food- Cas just called though,” Sam snorted.

“Hello Lucien, now please answer me? Dean and I found a video somebody took of the concert last night.”

Gabe grumbled a little, bringing his hands around to hug Sam’s chest. “..You’re touching my butt” He joked and giggled a little. 

“Oh- Yeah” Lucien mumbled and smiled at the phone. “I’m sorry no one called, they were pretty excited and also pretty tired when it happened” He mumbled. “But yeah, do you want to see the ring?” He asked.

“Yes, I want to see the ring!” Cas responded.

Sam laughed a little and went to sit down on one of the beds with Gabe.

“You didn’t have to stop” Gabe teased, reaching up to touch Sam’s face before quickly giving up to sleep, hand falling pliant on Sam’s shoulder. 

“Alright gimme a sec” Lucien mumbled, walking back to Sam and stared at the hand Gabe had touching Sam’s neck. “Perfect” He mumbled, zooming in a little to take the picture, Gabe sleeping in the background. He immediately went back to Cas and sent the picture, then put it on Twitter with a proud brother caption. “Did you get it?” He asked.

“Um-“ Cas started, then let out an excited laugh. “Yes, yes I did. Dean!”

Sam smiled and rolled his eyes, relaxing against him.

Dean jumped, dropping the spoon to his cereal on the kitchen floor, staring at him with a frown. “Cas..” He whined and came over beside him on the couch, putting an arm around his waist to stare at the picture. “I.. what am I looking at? Is that a baby in a hoodie or some shit?” He squinted. 

“That’s your fucking brother-in-law” Lucien laughed. 

“Well yeah, I knew that- Oh it’s Gabe’s ring!” He realized, staring at it before zooming in on it. “Aw, they’re so cute” He mumbled. “Tell Sam not to fuck this up again”

“Dean, enough,” Cas huffed, then turned cheery again. “We’re very happy for both of them.”

“So are we,” Balthazar grinned. “And so are they.”

Gabe groaned and set his head up with a frown, staring at Sam. “I don’t think I’m gonna get to sleep” He mumbled, shifting to stand up on the edge of the bed only to slide out to sit on the floor underneath Sam, moving to stand in front of him with a yawn. “I’m gonna take a quick shower” He mumbled, easing his ring off to hand to Sam. “I don’t wanna lose this” He smiled softly and took his bag into the bathroom after giving Sam a long kiss. 

“I’m really happy they’re both happy right now” Lucien smiled widely.

Sam kept a tight hold of the ring, smiling as he glanced over at Lucien. “We are. Hey Dean, hey Cas!”

“Hello Sam,” Cas responded with a soft laugh. “Dean says you’re not allowed to be married before us, since he proposed first.”

“It’s not fair and you’re not doing” Dean frowned against Cas’ shoulder. 

Gabe stood in the bathroom silently thinking to himself. He frowned at the thought of how he was supposed to propose first and how he’d been utterly rejected. He began crying, sinking to the floor out the mere thought again, hugging his knees tightly in the silence. 

“Besides- We’re older and you’re still in college” Dean pointed out with a laugh.

“Alright alright, jeez,” Sam snorted, rubbing his fingers over the gem. “Jerk. I figured you would want to anyway.”

“Why do you have Gabe’s ring? Or.. the ring- yeah, I mean why isn’t Gabe wearing it?” Lucien’s asked.

Sam looked down at it and shrugged. “He said he was taking a shower and didn’t want to lose it.”

“Oh” Lucien nodded softly and smiled. “I think he’s done then” He mumbled, taking a bite of his own breakfast. 

“How would you know?” Dean asked over the phone. 

“Because the water isn’t running” Lucien shrugged, wiping his mouth. “As soon as the door shuts he’s getting in. He’s probably getting dressed now” He shrugged again.

“It’s- it hasn’t been that long, I would’ve thought he’d still be in there,” Sam said in confusion.

Lucien paused and stared at Sam, listening in silence for the shower. He looked at Balthazar and Michael before immediately standing up and running to the bathroom, opening the door. He frowned when he found Gabe on the floor, hysterically in tears, pulling at his hair. “Gabe- Gabe, hey, Gabe stop” He whispered, reaching up to hold his hands, smiling at him. He put an arm around him and cupped his cheek, brushing tears away. “Gabe, what happened?” He whispered softly, petting through his hair. Gabe gasped for air, shrugging roughly before reaching out to hug Lucien. Lucien frowned and sat down, one leg laying down while the other propped up so Gabe’s back could lean on it. “Come here” He whispered, setting Gabe in his lap to hug him, calming him down.

Sam crouched in the doorway next to them, frowning in concern. “What’s- what’s wrong?”

Balthazar glanced at Michael, then turned the phone off of speaker and held it up to his ear. “Um.. I might need to call you guys back.”

Lucien looked at Sam just as confused and shrugged. “I don’t know” He whispered, smiling when Gabe stopped crying and just hugged him tighter. He gently rubbed his shoulders to try and get him to stop shaking, laying his chin on Gabe’s head. 

Dean shared a look with Cas and frowned. “Okay..?” He whispered before letting Cas hang up.

“Yeah.. give us a second,” Balthazar mumbled, then hung up and tossed his phone on the bed to join Michael outside of the bathroom. “Gabe?”

Lucien looked up at them and shook his head, letting his little brother claw at his back. “Gabe, come on. Please talk to us” He whispered. Gabe stayed still, staring at Lucien’s neck before shaking his head. “Why not?” He mumbled. 

“..It’s not fair” Gabe whispered after a while, fingers gripping Lucien’s shirt tightly. 

“What’s not fair?” He asked, hand tangling itself in with Gabe’s hair. Gabe shook his head again and sniffled before burying his face into his brother’s neck.

“Gabe, please,” Sam pleaded softly, setting a hand on his back with a frown.

Gabe shook his head, trying to shift away from Sam. “It’s just not fair” He whispered to Lucien. “..I was supposed to propose first. It was supposed to be us..” He rambled while continuing to cry. 

“What?” Lucien asked softly, pulling away to lift Gabe’s head. 

“..It was supposed to be me” Gabe mumbled while looking away. He looked guiltily at the ground before pushing Lucien’s hand away to press himself further into Lucien’s chest. 

Lucien frowned and glanced at Sam before shrugging, moving to hold him closer.

Sam hesitantly pulled his hand back, wincing a little as he realized. “Oh... oh god. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault” Lucien whispered, rubbing his brother’s back to soothe him again. “Hey, Gabe, you know it doesn’t matter..” He smiled. 

“It matters to me” Gabe hissed, crossing his arms angrily. 

“Well, you..” Lucien whispered, hands rubbing over his shoulders before sighing. “Gabe, it doesn’t matter when or how or what time. What matters is that he did propose and you said yes.. and you’re happy”

“..But Dean said-“

“We’ll talk to Dean” Lucien stated quickly, smiling at Gabe. “It’s been months Gabe. And think of it this way. Just because they get married before you doesn’t mean they’ll get married younger than you. You’re both the youngest and can get married at any time and still get married before them” Lucien smiled. 

Gabe frowned and shrugged a little, rubbing his eyes. “It’s not the same thing..” He whispered.

“Gabriel,” Michael started with a soft sigh. “Maybe things got messed up, but they’re better now, right? You two have been working through everything even since you got back together.”

Gabe frowned and buried his head in between his knees, scratching at his scalp. “It’s not my fault..” He whispered, tears forming in his eyes. 

“Gabe, we’re not saying it is” Lucien frowned. 

“It’s not my fault” Gabe repeated, pulling at his hair as he sobbed. 

“Gabe-“ Lucien tried to stop him, getting him to calm down a little and let go of his hair. “Gabe listen-“

“No!” 

“Gabe” Lucien frowned anxiously, trying to make him stop pulling on his hair. “Michael, get out” He muttered, snapping when Gabe began to sob again. “Michael!”

“I didn’t do anything Lucien,” Michael growled, frowning at Gabe before backing away with his arms crossed.

Lucien sighed as Gabe continued to pull at his hair, trying to make him stop. “Sam- Get out and shut the door” He muttered, holding Gabe’s wrists. “Get out!”

Sam flinched, then stood up to head out while Balthazar shut the door.

Lucien and Gabe could be heard screaming and crying, mostly on Gabe’s side as Lucien talked him down for a good half hour. After a long while of silence, there was finally water running for a bath, Lucien soon after leaving to shut the door behind him. He sighed, sliding down the door in the knowing fact his brother was relaxing in the tub. He sat still before smiling and looking at Sam. “I’m sorry if I scared you or got too snappy.. Gabe just can’t.. I don’t know.” He admitted. “I only know certain ways to help him, but it’s only if we’re alone” He mumbled and smiled softly before adding. “He feels bad because he thinks he hurt your feelings”

“I- why would- of course he didn’t,” Sam frowned as he looked up at him, still fiddling with the ring.

Lucien shrugged and shook his head. “He’s a weird one” He whispered, shifting away to stand up. “He missed the ring and had to think if you actually proposed or if he was daydreaming it for like the tenth time” He laughed. “Because apparently, he thought about it a lot” He mumbled.

Sam’s lips twitched into a brief smile before he looked back down at the ring. “Well, that goes for both of us.”

Lucien smiled and shrugged. “I have no idea how long he’ll be in there and I have no idea if he’ll be ready to prefer tonight either..” He whispered. “I’m worried..”

Sam frowned and sighed. He sat thinking to himself for a moment before glancing at the door. “What would help?”

Lucien shrugged and shook his head. “Nothing can really help..” Lucien whispered. “He never got this expect the time dad died and he blamed himself. It’s just really depressive stages” He mumbled. “I think we’re going to um.. leave tour early.. again” He sighed loudly and rubbed over his face. “I don’t think we can afford to but.. my family comes first and I don’t want them to be forced to perform if they obviously can’t. So I want to take Gabe home for the rest of the summer and head back out in about a month in fall. You said you’d be in school so.. I’m not sure how that’d work out, but right now I want to take Gabe home. We’re going in that direction anyway but..” He shrugged and sighed. “And people say this life is easy” she grumbled, coming up to Michael. “What do you think we should do?”

Michael sighed, tapping his foot rapidly. “We can’t keep going on and off like this,” he grunted. “For reputation's sake, it’ll lose us money.” He sighed again, frowning. “But it would be better to take a break, emotional health-wise. I’m serious though, we can’t do the on and off thing. We push through shit all the time, and performing usually helps us forget about it.”

“People will be pissed,” Balthazar mumbled with a shrug.

“Yeah, well what happened to Gabe isn’t gonna blow over in a week within his head. It could stay with him for years, and no offense to Sam, because I like him, but I don’t think he’s helping. Not that you’re doing anything wrong” Lucien mumbled towards Sam. “But he is a constant reminder and I think if Gabe is missing Sam a lot more than being reminded that he got hurt, it’ll do a lot better for him” He explained. “Sometimes people just need distance” He shrugged with a wide smile. “And I think Gabe needs that..” He frowned.

“I can understand that,” Sam nodded, looking up at him again.

“We’re all gonna have to deal with some backlash from this,” Michael sighed.

“Definitely. This is the second time we’ve postponed it, we should be handing out at least half-refunds,” Balthazar muttered. “I love Gabe, but I also love having money to live.”

“We still have a lot saved up Bal,” Michael shook his head. “We should be okay, we just might need to take extra gigs or something.”

Lucien sighed heavily and rubbed at his face. “Look. We go home. Wait a while. Sam goes to college, and we go back on tour. Is that our plan?” He asked, looked at his brothers.  
The other three looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. 

“I’ll post the information. If there are people that can’t go to the new dates, we’ll refund them,” Michael huffed.


	19. Chapter 19

Gabe hummed happily as he brought another box into his and Sam’s supposed room. He looked around again and turned back to where Sam was carrying more boxes in to set against the wall in the living room. “Are you sure it’s okay if we store all of these things here?” Gabe asked softly. “You know I’m gonna be on tour for a few months and your friends are gonna be over..” Gabe mumbled softly, twisting his ring around.

“Yeah, it’s perfectly fine,” Sam said, smiling as he went back to take in more boxes. “They’ll be here safe and sound for when you get back.”

“Sam..” Gabe mumbled. “You know I might not be back in December. We don’t know yet. Are you really sure?” He frowned. “If not we can leave them stacked in my room at the apartment..” He frowned.

“Gabe, it’s fine, seriously,” Sam assured him. “I don’t mind, my friends aren’t gonna care.”

“..I don’t want them to think I’m a dick or anything” He mumbled before taking out one of his dad’s books. “I’m sorry. I’m anxious when meeting people important to loved ones. Now hand me a stranger and I’ll socialize for hours” He sighed, tossing the book back into the box.

Sam smiled a little, taking his hands to squeeze them gently. “No need to apologize, I get it. But really, they won’t care. They’re friendly, promise.”

Gabe made a face and smiled again. “Alright. Well, I should be leaving soon if we’re going to be on schedule for tour again.. I’ll try and see if we can be home for Christmas, but that involves a lot of back to back performing without three days rest” He mumbled and frowned deeply. “I know it’s my fault and I can’t help but feel horrible about it” He whispered. “Because now that I’ve delayed too much, we might not be able to spend Christmas together” He huffed.

“It’s- it’s alright,” Sam shook his head. “We can always.. we can always video chat, Yeah?”

Gabe grinned widely and nodded, lifting himself on his toes to kiss Sam. “I’ll try and text you in case you're in class” He mumbled. “But I promise- This time. No freakouts. No panic attacks. No crying. Nothing!” He grinned. “And I’ll try my best to make everything go fast so we can get back before Christmas. I’m gonna miss Halloween, but At least we’ll try for Christmas” He stated again.

“We’ll do our best, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s always next year,” Sam grinned, leaning down to kiss him again. “We’ll figure things out, promise.”

Gabe frowned a little, hugging him tightly. “I’m not gonna see you for months..” He whispered softly. “I can’t wait that long” He complained, burying his face into Sam’s chest.

Sam sighed softly against his hair as he pressed his face against it. “I know, but it’ll- it’ll be okay. Makes our reunion that much better.”

Gabe frowned and glanced at the messages his siblings were sending in. “I’ve really gotta go..” He whispered softly, squeezing Sam’s hands. “I’m sorry..” He frowned deeply, not making an effort to move.

Sam nodded and shifted his weight a little, but still didn’t make any moves to let go. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too..” He mumbled, tearing up a little before moving to kiss him again. He waited longer this time before slowly pulling away, hands slipping out of Sam’s as he stepped back. He hesitated before grinning widely. “I know I don’t say it a lot.. but I love you..”

Sam smiled back at him. “I love you too. We don’t say it much, but I like to think it’s implied, ya know?”

“I do. It’s definitely implied.. Always” He grinned, both of them sharing a laugh before Gabe had to step out, where he never came back into. 

They’d video called and chatted and Gabe even showed Sam his new keychain whenever he went to another state. They’d talk for seconds before having to go, sometimes call right after concerts, or in secret where Sam was in class and it was night where Gabe was. Gabe liked watching Sam work. It helped him to sleep. For the first part, it was all okay and Gabe was fine. But then he wanted his Sam. He’d found out the week before Christmas he would be able to come back. He knew Sam would understand if he could t make it home, and he wanted to surprise Sam. So it was okay to lie just this once. 

Gabe sat at their shared apartment, smelling the air freshener Sam had used. He sniffled and rubbed his nose at the cold sensation. He knew Sam was getting out of class soon, so he called as soon as he knew it was over, waiting for Sam to pick up.

“Hey, Gabe!” Sam answered in a tired but cheery voice. “What’s up?”

“Hey..” He dropped the cheery tone and sighed. “I don’t think we’ll be able to make it home for Christmas” He explained with a frown. “We’re kind of in the middle of Texas, and it’d take about four days to get up to Kansas, but with the snow, it’d probably be too late so we decided we’re just gonna spend Christmas with the rednecks” He fake laughed before his smile dropped again. “..Sorry” He whispered, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

“Oh.. That’s okay! We can spend Christmas together next year, yeah?” Sam said reassuringly, though the disappointment in his voice was obvious.

“Yeah.. So what are you doing now?” Gabe asked softly, trying to change the subject to a happier one. “I think I can hear Charlie behind you?” He mumbled. 

Charlie was indeed sticking her tongue out and making strange noises in the phone, laughing the whole time as they walked.

“She is, Kevin too,” Sam laughed. “We’re studying tonight. Exams soon.”

“Aw, I’m sorry” Gabe whispered, sighing softly. “Oh- When do you think you’ll be home?” He asked excitedly. “I sent you a present in the mail and I’m not sure if it’s there yet. I requested it to be there a little early, but I’m not sure if it’s there” Gabe mumbled softly, smirking to himself. He could count himself as the present right? Totally.

“Um.. probably like half an hour, maybe longer. We have things to pick up, but I’ll check the mail as soon as I get home,” Sam promised. “Do you have another show tonight or can we talk until three?”

Gabe thought and smiled widely. “I think we can talk a little longer than three” Gabe decided on, standing up finally to take off his shoes at the front door. He relocked the door to make it seem like no one had been there and walked around a little more to look at the decorations Sam had put up. “Just hurry home, I want you to call me when you open it. I wanna see your reaction” He grinned, coming back into the living room to sit and wait for Sam.

“Alright, can do,” Sam laughed. “I should probably go, I’m driving and Charlie is already gonna be distracting me- don’t give me that look, I’m joking!” He laughed at Charlie, then went back to the conversation. “I’ll talk to you then.”

Gabe frowned deeply and remained quiet before whispering back. “Okay... bye” He mumbled, hanging up, actually a little disappointed for once. He sighed and sat at the end of the couch, messing with his turtle neck as he waited for Sam to get home.

Sam pulled into the driveway a little over half an hour later. He shut the car off and opened the back door to help Kevin carry things inside. “Honestly, I can't wait until he can come home. This is the longest we’ve been apart,” he sighed to both of them.

“We know!” They both said before groaning and following him up the metal stairs. 

Gabe turned down the Christmas music he had playing and stood up from the couch, awkwardly standing as he heard them outside. He bounced on his feet and frowned, waiting excitedly and nervously for Sam to unlock the door. He smiled at finally hugging him again and playing with his hair. He chewed on his nails at just the thought again, wishing Sam would unlock his fucking door already.

The clock clicked a couple of times as the key was turned, then the door pushed open. “I know I mention it a lot but it’s true, I-“ Sam stopped talking and walking when he’d taken notice of Gabe, standing in shock for a moment before a wide grin grew on his face. “Holy- Gabe? What are you doing here?” He set their things down on the floor and let his bag drop before moving quickly forward to pull him into a hug. “I thought you wouldn’t be home, you ass, I missed you!”

Gabe laughed happily as he hugged him tightly around the neck, squeezing the life out of him. “I wanted to surprise you!” He grinned, being lifting in the air for the hug. “I just got back today” He grinned.

“I am surprised,” Sam laughed, hugging him even tighter. “Do you get to stay for the holidays? I know you still have a few more show stops to go to.”

“Who cares?!” He laughed, pulling back to take Sam’s face in for a kiss. He waited a lot longer than what he should’ve, but he didn’t care when he pulled away. “I missed you, but please put me down- you’re freezing” He laughed, gently kicking his legs in the air.

Sam laughed and set him down on the ground. “What, you don’t love my iciness?” He joked, then gasped a little. “Oh! Right, uh, Charlie, Kev, you guys can set up in the living room if you want.”

Charlie laughed and continued grabbing the things from the floor. “Geez, thanks” She laughed sarcastically and set the things down on the coffee table before taking her coat and shoes off. 

“Um..” Gabe began, gently clearing his throat before frowning and glanced up at Sam nervously.

“It’s alright, they’re still nice,” Sam assured him with a small smile. “Do you want to sit with us while we work a little? It’s just like an hour or so.”

“Yeah a little, I just.. don’t want to be a distraction” He mumbled softly, messing with his ring. “That and I don’t wanna be in the way a lot..” He rambled and frowned deeply.

“You won’t be,” Sam shook his head. “We’ll just be talking and rambling a lot about stuff, it’s our study process.”

“..Okay” Gabe smiled softly, messing with his hands, jumping into Sam’s chest when Charlie came up beside them. “So this is Gabe?” She grinned, looking him over. 

Gabe frowned, crossing his arms to hug his forearms, watching her. 

“Quite short, a little chub didn’t hurt anybody” She rambled, making Gabe blush. “And quite nervous.. Do we have a guilty conscience maybe?” She asked, leaning closer to Gabe. 

Gabe frowned, leaning against Sam’s chest before anxiously jolting forward. “Uh- I- um, um-“ he began anxiously, watching her.

“He’s just a little anxious,” Sam explained, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Mostly because you’re a friend of mine, just give him a little time.”

“Don’t mind Charlie,” Kevin snorted, setting his laptop out on Sam’s coffee table. “She talks too much.”

“Hey!” Charlie glared and turned to talk to Kevin. 

Gabe swallowed and smiled up at Sam before gasping. “Oh, take your shoes and coat off.. I got you something” Gabe smiled, leaving him to run into the bedroom where his bag was with the small bow with a ribbon. He grinned, coming back to anxiously stand in the doorway.

“Oh?” Sam smiled, tilting his head as he walked forward to take it. “What is it?”

“Um..” Gabe started, just staring at it as he handed it off to Sam. He anxiously turned to mess with his hands, feet shuffling on the floor. “It’s um.. just something to repay the favor. I suppose” He mumbled softly.

“Oh?” Sam said again, opening it up and peering inside.

Gabe glanced down from behind the box with his golden wedding ring inside. “I um.. I know it doesn’t match but it’s the one I was going to give you.. before. And.. Michael said it might help me mentally to give it to you” He mumbled softly.

Sam brought a hand up to cover his mouth for a moment, then reached to take it from the box. “It’s- Oh my god Gabe,” He said with a soft laugh, carefully setting the bag and box down to slip it on. “I love it. I love you.”

Gabe blushed a little at the praise and smiled as he turned it over to show the small words carved into it. Forever and Always. Gabe messed with it for a few seconds before letting go of his hand to smile up at Sam. “I don’t really know what to say now so..” He mumbled, clearing his throat.

Sam smiled, kissing his head and gesturing to the living room. “Care to join us? They won’t be here long.”

Gabe grinned and shrugged a little. “Are you sure I’m not going to be a distraction?” He mumbled. “I’m gonna want to be all over you” He frowned, taking ahold of Sam’s hand just to touch him.

“It’ll be fine, it’s pretty simple stuff, we just want to make sure we have it down,” Sam nodded.”

Gabe smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand. “Alright. Then yeah, I’d really like to” Gabe mumbled softly, moving forward to hug Sam’s arm.

Sam grinned and lead him over to their setup, grabbing his stuff from the floor. “Alright, where’d we leave off?”

Gabe smiled and stood beside the couch, looking down at Charlie on the other side of the couch and Kevin in their recliner. He waved a little. 

Charlie looked up at him before looking back at her computer. “Advanced constitutional laws” Charlie smiled. “Just the terms so far are Judicial Process, Administrative Due Process, Investigations versus Adjudications- Most of the ones we don’t know” Charlie nodded, rambling off a few other terms that made Gabe’s head spin. 

Gabe frowned, definitely not understanding anything they were saying as he stood there, a little overwhelmed at the thought. He swallowed and glanced down at Charlie’s notes, instantly giving up when he couldn’t even pronounce the words.

Kevin nodded beside her, typing away at his computer. “I can make note cards, if that helps. Shouldn’t take too long.”

“I- for all three of us?” Sam asked incredulously.

“Yes.”

Sam blinked. “I guess? That’s a lot of writing Kev.”

“I’ve done more.”

“There’s over a hundred terms Kevin. Are you sure you just don’t wanna do it online?” Charlie asked.

Gabe itched his arm as he awkwardly stood beside the couch, moving back a little until they hadn’t noticed he left and went into their supposed shared bedroom. He slowly closed the door and silently clicked it shut. He breathed in the silence and moved to sit on the bed. He didn’t want to cry, but he sure felt the need to. He’d never felt so.. different than now. He knew he shouldn’t think too much on it considering no matter what logic he’ll think up, he’s either not smart enough or not in the loop of things after being gone for months. 

His thing was music. Not law.

He sighed, realizing he’d been crying and rolled over so his face was pressed into the mattress, crying silently as he curled into one of Sam’s pillows. Why was he making this so hard?

He reached for his phone before immediately remembering he left it on the counter. He sighed, staring at the wall to calm himself down.

There was a soft knock at the door a few minutes later, then Sam’s voice came through. “Gabe? Are you okay?”

No. Gabe rolled the blankets over his black jeans before pulling them over his shoulders and head to cry. He shifted around until he was rolled up tightly in the blankets, a small breathing hole for his face. He quite frankly didn’t feel like talking or getting up for that matter. He wanted to see Sam, he did, but there was no point when he had friends over that he needed to study with. All he was doing was being a distraction. Whether he liked it or not he was always a distraction. 

He cried a little harder at that thought, hugging the pillow tighter. “..No” He grumbled, definitely not loud enough for anyone in the room to hear, let alone Sam outside of the door.

There was silence outside of the door, then it was slowly pushed open. “You um, you just kinda left suddenly so I thought I’d check on you.”

Gabe made a soft noise, instantly covering his mouth as he listened to Sam. he sunk further into his makeshift cave and let the blanket flap cover his face. He let the darkness encase his vision, staring at the small openings in the corners to make sure Sam hadn’t come to find him.

Sam stayed quiet for another moment as he waited for a response, then took another step closer. “I um, I brought your phone too.” He leaned forward and hesitantly placed it next to the lump under the blanket. “You left it out there, figured you’d want it.. if you don’t want to talk that’s okay, um, I can leave.”

Gabe didn’t really know what to say. He watched the phone through the corner of the hole and hesitantly reached his fingers out for it. He quickly brought his hand back and frowned, watching Sam shift his way. He was getting impatient. Gabe felt another wave of hot tears roll over his cheeks as he blinked to clear his vision. He pouted under the covers, staring at his phone before softly sniffling. He glanced at Sam’s hands resting beside his body and looked back at his phone. He didn’t want his phone now. He buried his hands back under the blanket to hug the pillow and watched Sam instead.

Sam sighed as he got no response, fidgeting with his hands as he inched backward. “Um, I’m gonna make sure Kevin doesn’t burn himself out writing notes, he’s pretty dead set on it. I’ll be back in a second, okay?”

Gabe waited patiently until he heard the door clicked behind Sam. He waited a few seconds before lifting his cave’s flap and stared at the door. He slowly reached for his phone before jerking his hand back to his chest to claim it. He stared at the door a while longer before closing his caves flap and opened his phone, smiling not that he was alone and could look at memes.

The room was quiet for a long time, and it had been nearly half an hour before Sam knocked again. “Hey, finally convinced him to split the work between us, so we got things sorted sooner than we thought,” he called. “How are you doing?”

Gabe jumped at the sound of Sam’s voice and turned his phone off, burying his head back into the cave. He frowned as he watched the door. Maybe if he got up quick enough he could somehow overpower Sam and lock the door. Damnit, why didn’t he think of these things in the half-hour Sam was forgetting about him. Oh. Ow. That hurt. Gabe frowned at his own thoughts attacking him. He glared at the door as he cried again and shook his head. He wanted to talk to Charlie and Kevin, but they were probably too smart for him. He’d only make them annoyed or he’d get sick of them. Maybe Sam would too Gabe bit his lip to keep from crying too loud as he went back to hugging the pillow.

Sam pushed the door open, poking his head in first before going to sit on the bed. “Gabe, please? I just want to know if you’re alright. They’re a little worried about you too.”

Gabe moves further back to cuddle his pillow, letting the tears soak his face and pillow. He glanced at his phone and debated on calling Michael. He really wanted to talk to his brother, but he couldn’t. Not now. Not after Sam had told Charlie and Kevin about what he was doing. Crying like some loser because everyone else was better than him. He sniffled and moved his fingers outside of the hole to stare at Sam’s chest. He moved his fingers up so he could look at Sam’s face, his teary eyes meeting Sam’s. He quickly dropped the blanket and held it shut, laying in the darkness as he pouted. This was pointless. He knew he should’ve just stayed on tour. Everything and everyone would’ve been so much happier if he’d never come home.

“Gabe,” Sam said a little firmer, but still in a gentle tone. “Nobody here hates you, you know. You seem like you hit a bad spot but don’t let your thoughts mess with you.”

Gabe hated it when Sam knew what he was thinking. Because then Sam would do what he wanted and he’d make Gabe feel better and that’s not what Gabe wanted. He wanted to remain in depressed town and sleep for three days but Michael claimed that’s, “Not healthy human functioning” but what does Michael know? 

Gabe breathed out roughly and frowned, picking at a loose thread in the blanket where his hand was outside. “..Are they still here?” Gabe whispered softly, staring at Sam’s legs.

“No, they had to head home,” Sam responded with a slight shake of his head.

Gabe shifted uncomfortably and brought his hand back into the cave to lay there. He stayed still for a few minutes before breaking into sobs, shaking as he buried his face into the pillow. He didn’t want to face anyone right now or even have to look Sam in the eyes. He’d hate Gabe and what he’d see. He’d want to leave him again, and not come back this time, and then he would spend weeks crying and eating grapes while his brothers sat with him and talked about how useless he was. Gabe lifted his face to gasp for breath before burying his face deep into the pillow again.

Sam laid a hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly. “Sh, it’s okay. I’m not leaving you, nobody is leaving you,” he assured him in a whisper. “It’s okay.”

Gabe lifted his head enough to breath, gasping for air again as tears rolled down his face. He wanted nothing more than to hug Sam and wish it was all over. All the guilt and insecurities. All of it. He shifts more until he’s unfolded from the blankets and can sit up on his knees. He’s still crying, but it’s only subdued a little. He swallows and takes a shaky breath. “I’m sorry..” He whispered out. “I’m so sorry- I.. I can’t.. I just... I don’t know. I couldn’t and I.. don’t- didn’t..” Gabe rambled aimlessly. “And I embarrassed you and.. made you look stupid when.. I just couldn’t take it and.. and..” He gasped, lip shaking as his shoulders shivered. “She was talking.. I didn’t.. I-“ He coughed and lowered his head to laugh, tears soaking his face as he cried. “I’m just.. dumb I’m not..” He tried again, reaching up to pull at his air. “I know music!” He blurted with a laugh, sobbing loudly afterward, smiling widely. “I-“

Sam took his hands to keep them from his hair, squeezing them. “You’re not stupid. Not everyone knows law, not everyone knows music either,” he stated. “You’re plenty smart in your field. That’s just how things are. It doesn’t make you stupid just because you don’t understand my field.”

Gabe frowned and grasped at Sam’s hands roughly, squeezing his fingers for dear life. “But h-how.. how am I supposed to talk to you anymore?” He asked softly. “Or your friends.. I don’t..” He breathed slowly, trying to calm down from what Michael taught him. “I.. I just feel useless” He whimpered, nails scratching at Sam’s hand without knowing. “And I- I get.. anxious and have these outbursts for a while like on the bus- and.. and I just get so.. not myself” He whispered, hands letting up on Sam’s hand. “And I don’t know what to do or what’s wrong with me..” He laughed a little before stopping himself and breathing out to force himself to calm down. “I’m sorry. This must be really shitty for you..” He whispered, scratching at his tender scalp where his hair was stuck up everywhere from his outburst. “I..” He shrugged, confused and dazed but no longer crying. “I’m so sorry” He whispered, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve, the older hand holding Sam’s hand.

“It’s okay Gabe, Seriously,” Sam assured him. “You don’t have to understand law stuff. We could explain it if you wanted, but they aren’t gonna hate you for not getting it.” He thought to himself for a moment, rubbing his thumbs over Gabe’s hands. “Do you think therapy might help? I know it’s not for everyone, but it helped me a little after everything.”

Gabe looked down at his still shaking hands and nodded. “I’d like that” He mumbled softly, breathing in before letting it go with a smile. “I feel gross now” He laughed, softly, moving to push the blankets all off of him. “I think a cold bath might help.. and then we could go through some things. Taking a therapy session in a few days... I don’t know I’m being this weird, thanks for you know,” Gabe shrugged, smiling at him. “Sticking with my crazy ass”

“Of course,” Sam laughed softly. “You’ve put up with plenty of my shit.”

Gabe rolled his eyes before sighing and moving to sit on his knees so he could kiss Sam. “I’m gonna go take a bath. I’ll schedule I’ll a therapy session while the water is running.. and I’ll see one a few days before Christmas” He smiled widely and stood up to head into the bathroom, turning the water on and coming out to pick up his phone. “Let’s schedule me an appointment for my crazy ass” He smiled, dialing the number from a search he found online and walked into the living room to have the call in private.

Sam smiled and nodded, sitting in the room for a moment before going to his closet and pulling out a box of pictures to look through.


	20. Chapter 20

Gabe huffed out a cold breath as he unlocked the door and shivered, coming inside. He closed the door behind him and shook his coat off, hanging it up. 

“Gabe!” Charlie smiled widely, waving to him. 

Gabe glanced back and smiled. “Hey” He mumbled, slipping out of his giant boots to rub his arms. “Where’s Sam?”

“Kitchen” She nodded. 

Gabe nodded and walked to the kitchen walkway, glancing in to smile at Sam. “Hey- I just got back from therapy” He informed Sam happily, stepping closer to the counter before shifting to sit on it so he was level with Sam. “And she thinks I’m doing fine.. I just needed to let.. everything out” He laughed.

“That’s great!” Sam grinned, stepping in front of him and setting a couple of plates down. “I assume it went well then?”

Gabe nodded quickly. “There’s nothing wrong with me. Just anxious all the time” He laughed softly. “..She says I did so well I more than likely don’t need to come back” He nodded and reached out to twirl Sam’s hair around. “So I’m thinking we could maybe watch a movie.. and open a single gift from each other on Christmas Eve” He mumbled. “And what are our plans for Christmas?” He asked. “Since it’s in two days”

“Hmm, not sure.. family get-together?” Sam suggested, placing his hands on the counter on either side of Gabe. “Dinner maybe?”

Gabe smiled, moving his hands to wrap around Sam’s neck loosely. “Family get together on Christmas Eve. Maybe some snow fun with the family.. then we spend the night together, and open one gift. Then Christmas- we spend together.. and it’ll be just the two of us. No interruptions. No calling or texting.. Just us?” He asked, pressing soft kisses to the corners of Sam’s mouth.

“Just us,” Sam promised, moving closer. “No interruptions,” he continued in a low tone, moving to kiss him again.

Gabe smiled wickedly as he kissed him, teeth pulling at Sam’s lip before kissing him again. He pecked over the indent of his teeth before opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. He moaned a little when Sam squeezed his sides to pull him closer, moving down to nip his neck. He laughed softly when Sam had to pull down his turtle neck and kiss around it. He gently pulled away when he heard someone approaching and opted for poking and playing with Sam’s cheeks as he pouted at the contact. 

“Hey Sam,” Charlie began, smiling at how innocent the two looked. “Do you know the definition of Privilege, like Federal Government?”

“Like Federal Job and public benefits?” Gabe asked, letting go of Sam’s face. 

“Exactly!” She smiled. “Thanks, Gabe” She turned and went back to the living with Kevin to leave them alone. 

Gabe sighed softly, resting a hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“Like I was saying,” Sam sighed with a small laugh once she’d left. “Privacy. Sorry about that.”

“Yeah” Gabe laughed feeling over his neck under the turtle neck where Sam had left soft red marks. “Don’t be marking me up,” He teased. “I don’t know if you did, but if my brothers find out they might be mad” He laughed.

“So? We’re adults, they can’t control what we do,” Sam laughed, resting his forehead against his shoulder.

“Are you sure that’s your reasoning?” Gabe smiled, playing with the ends of Sam’s hair. “That’s you’re an adult and not scared of my brothers.. or that you just wanna be a pervert and be proud of the marks you leave on what’s your’s?” Gabe smirked playfully, tucking hairs behind Sam’s ears.

“No!” Sam laughed. “They really don’t scare me much anymore.”

Gabe pouted a little and pulled the turtle neck up higher on his neck. “Oh..” He mumbled softly and glanced away. “Well, maybe I liked it..” He frowned and shook his head with a smile. “Never mind” He laughed. “So my brothers don’t scare you, like, not even a little?” He asked, changing the subject.

“.. Okay maybe a little. But usually, no,” Sam snorted, shaking his head. “But yes, both are kinda my reasons.”

Gabe stared at him weirdly before tilting his head. “Okay, you’re confusing me now. Can you say that again in simpler terms so I can understand it better?” He asked softly, feeling a little stupid.

“Proud of the marks, too,” Sam said with a little shrug.

Gabe smiled at that and put his hands on Sam’s cheeks. “Thank you” He grinned, going to kiss Sam before moving to kick his nose with a giggle.

Sam wrinkled his nose and snorted. “Thanks for that,” he laughed, pressing their foreheads together. “Ah shit, hey, is chicken okay with you for dinner? I’m making it myself to avoid a peanut reaction.”

Gabe grinned and moved to kiss his forehead before placing them back together. “Yeah. I appreciate that” He whispered, leaning down to kiss the corner of Sam’s mouth. “Can you add the brown sugar to make it sweet?” He asked softly, pressing another kiss to the edge of Sam’s lips.

“Sure,” Sam laughed, nodding. “Let me do that real quick, then I can put it in the oven,” he continued, gesturing to the chicken on the other end of the counter.

“Okay,” Gabe smiled and pulled away to let Sam work. He glanced at the door, hoping to not be interrupted this time when Sam came back.

Sam glanced at him as he put the chicken in the oven and set the timer, a smile growing on his face as he came back over to Gabe. Gabe grinned widely, hugging Sam around the neck as he pulled him in for a kiss, pressing more and more kisses to his lips as he laughed. Sam laughed with him, moving forward to meet him each time before wrapping his arms around his waist to press closer. Gabe smiled against his lips, slowing down eventually to slowly kiss him. He moved his legs for Sam to stand closer, slowly pushing and pulling into the kiss. He pulled away fully, letting their lips just rest against each other's before sucking on Sam’s top lip. Sam hummed a little, then moved his arms to hold Gabe’s waist. Gabe shifted a little at the feeling of Sam’s hands squeezing his sides, sneaking up under his sweater. He giggled when it tickled him, pressing deeper kisses to Sam’s mouth as their tongues darted out to meet each other’s awkwardly. In the end, Gabe was the one pressing forward and leading the kiss passionately and slowly. He slowed to a stop, mouths separating as he huffed out a breath, eyes closed against Sam’s forehead. Gabe moved to slide his hands down the back of Sam’s shirt, mouth pressing say kisses to Sam’s. “..I love you”

“I love you too,” Sam breathed out, opening his eyes for a moment to smile at him, rubbing his thumbs over his sides.

Gabe moved to lay his head on Sam’s shoulder, breath slowly down as he relaxed against Sam. After a few minutes of rubbing and soft squeezes, Gabe was out cold on Sam’s shoulder, snorting softly every time he inhaled instead of snoring.

Sam laughed quietly, letting him sit for a little longer until the timer had gone off. He sighed as he lifted a hand to brush over Gabe’s cheek. “Hey, I have to get our food.”

Gabe grumbled sleepily and leaned up to rub his eyes, slowly moving away from Sam. He yawned silently, his lips soft and puffy from kissing earlier and eyes slanted in a tired squint. “Are you sure I can’t just take a nap on the couch?” He asked softly, eyes struggling to stay open.

“Go ahead, it’ll be fine,” Sam smiled, gesturing to the doorway. “I’ll be out in a bit with food for everyone.”

Gabe mumbled sifting unintentional and moved to carefully climb off the counter, trudging into the living room. 

“Hey, Gabe-“ Charlie started before Gabe landed on the couch with a grunt, almost immediately falling back asleep where he laid.

“And goodnight,” Kevin said with a small smile, never looking up from his computer. “Okay, I have my half of the notes mostly done. Does Sam have food yet?”

Charlie smelled the air and grinned widely. “..Meat” She whispered and laughed. “I can smell his sweet chicken” She drooled a little, closing her laptop to stand up and run to the kitchen, smelling the air violently. “Feed me” She demanded, coming up beside him to annoy him.

Sam rolled his eyes and waved her off, setting the chicken up to cool for a bit. “Calm down, you’ll burn yourself. Just give it a couple of minutes.”

Charlie pouted and sighed. “Okay well, can you at least show me where the blankets are? Gabe fell asleep on the couch.. I also kind of want you to help move him so we can sit down” She laughed.  
“You’ve been sitting on the floor this whole time and now you want the couch?” Sam snorted, jokingly raising an eyebrow at her. “For real though, extra blankets are in my closet.”

“I’m just saying for when you want to sit on the couch, he’s a starfish” She laughed and moved to go into Sam and Gabe’s room, looking for the closet. She found it beside the bed and slid the sliding door open, looking at the top shelf for blankets, feeling for the softest one. Once she found one she thought was the best, she carefully pulled it down and closed the door, resisting the urge to snoop around in their room. She covered Gabe’s figure best she could and watched Gabe curl up easily, taking up less than half the couch. “Aw,” She whispered, crouching to get a few pictures to send to Sam in the kitchen.

Sam smiled as his phone buzzed and he looked at the pictures. “Thanks, Charlie,” he laughed.

She grinned widely. “I thought you’d enjoy them” She grinned, moving to lean back against the table.


	21. Chapter 21

Gabe shivered hysterically as he came back later that night, his jacket wrapped around him tightly. He sniffled and shut the door with his shoulder, dropping to his knees seconds afterward, holding his stomach as if he’d been hurt.

Sam looked up at him, smiling at first before it was replaced with a concerned frown. "Hey- are you alright? What happened?" he asked, setting his phone aside and standing up to meet him.

Gabe looked up at Sam guiltily, going to open his mouth before a small puppy came out of his jacket to lick him. Gabe smiled a little and looked up at Sam. “..I’m sorry” He whispered, carefully opening his jacket so the puppy could get out and stand on the carpet, shivering. “I uh.. got the nutmeg..” He mumbled, offering him the plastic bottle.

Sam blinked, staring in shock down at the little dog. "Um- yeah, uh, just.. put it in the fridge but- explain?" He gestured to the puppy with wide eyes.

Gabe frowned and helped it back into his coat. “Well, I decided to walk because it’s like ten minutes from here and if I trip on ice it’s a lot better than wrecking the car. So while I was walking back from the store I noticed this box between the gas station and someone’s house and found these little guys and.. Sam I couldn’t let them freeze out there” He whispered, revealing another puppy inside his coat. “From what I saw only these two were alive” He frowned, holding them close with a pouty face.

Sam frowned, rubbing his face for a moment before sighing. “I guess I don’t blame you. But we’re both kinda busy, are you sure we can handle dogs right now?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going back to finish tour soon, and I won’t be home all day.”

Gabe made a face and pouted, feeling them move around under his coat. “But Sam..” He whispered, reaching in to pet one’s head. “What are we gonna do with them? Let them stay here a couple of nights then drop 'em off at the pound to sit on cold concrete for four years until they get put down?” He glared, holding one of the puppies up with an innocent smile. “Besides.. they’re corgis” He whispered, playing with its little tail as the other one jumped out of his coat to run up to Sam for attention.

“That’s not what I meant. I just mean we need to think about it a little,” Sam sighed, lips twitching into a brief smile as he looked down at it before he shook his head and looked back up at Gabe.

Gabe frowned as he stood up and took his coat off, slipping his boots off by the door. “Well, I’m going to make a nice dog bed for these two and get some chicken for them” He smiled and walked past Sam to their bedroom to get one of his pillows and a blanket down.  
Sam put his hands up in defeat, sighing as he walked into the kitchen to set the container of leftover chicken on the counter. He never took his eyes off of the puppies, worried they might pee on the carpet, and continued to keep an eye on them when he’d returned to the couch.

Gabe came back smiling, the puppies running up to their savior as he laid the pillow down and got the blanket put over it, folding up the edges so it’d be a small nest. The one instantly crawled on the blanket, flopping down on its stomach to sleep on the pillow, the other trying to climb the couch to get the chicken it smelled on Sam’s. Sam smiled a little as the tiny puppy struggled to get on the couch, eventually putting his hand down for it to sniff.

It got excited easily, sniffling and licking his hand happily. Gabe smiled as he went into the kitchen to make a small plate for the puppies, putting the rest in the fridge. He quickly warmed it up and brought it to them, watching as the one woke up and stumbled over, the other leaving Sam’s hand to excitedly start licking the plate. Gabe carefully stood up and moved over the two to sit with Sam on the couch. “Well.. It’s not what I was expecting for Christmas, but I’m definitely glad I found them when I did” He mumbled. “Later today or sometime I want to go out and get the box of the other” He frowned at Sam. “I want to give them a proper burial or something small at least..” He whispered.

Sam nodded in understanding. “Probably will have to be in our yard, for legal reasons. How many were there?”

Gabe frowned and watched the two on the floor wiggle around happily. “Three” He mumbled, fingers scratching at the couch. “I don’t know if the ground in our backyard is frozen over or not though” He whispered, glancing outside to watch the snow fall.

Sam hummed and pressed his lips together. “Well.. we’ll have to see. Shouldn’t be too bad yet.”

Gabe smiled hopefully, going to slip his shoes on before grabbing his coat. “I’ll be back” He promised, opening the door before he could be seen walking by the windows to their backyard, walking to the edge of the fence line. He carried a snow-shovel with him, clearing out about a yard of snow from the edge until he reached the grass, bending down to try and touch the ground. He frowned to himself before standing back up to make his way back inside.

Sam tilted his head as he came back in. “Think we should try it?” He asked.

“Maybe if we put some hot water on the dirt” Gabe mumbled, sniffling a little as he watched one of the puppies fall asleep on the blanket, the other falling asleep with its head on the floor. Gabe laughed, taking his boots off so he wouldn't track water everywhere before he went to get three pillowcases he didn’t care about. “I think we can wrap them up in these, and then bury them” He frowned.

Sam nodded with a small frown. “Do you want to get them while I try and dig some holes?” He asked softly.

“Yeah, I’ll just bring the box” He mumbled softly and went back to put his shoes on. “I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes” He mumbled and wondering out the door again.

Sam nodded, glancing at the puppies before slipping on a jacket and heading out to start on the digging. He was still outside when Gabe returned home, having just finished the second hole.

Gabe ran out inside and out the screen door, yelling for Sam. “Don’t dig a third one!” He screamed and looked back inside before running quickly back in, coming back outside to close the door. “How many did you dig?” He asked breathlessly.

Sam jumped and turned to face him, dropping the shovel. “U-um, two so f-far?” Sam responded. “Why?”

Gabe sighed softly and smiled. “One of them’s alive!” He grinned widely. “I mean, these poor guys didn’t make it, but we’ve got three” He smiled softly, bending down to fold the small wrapped up figure into the hall. Gabe frowned, taking the other to gently place at the bottom of the other and smiled. He stood back up and took a step back, watching them awkwardly. “Can we name them?” He asked softly.

Sam smiled a little, shivering as he came back in and took his jacket off. “Sure, why not,” he laughed softly. “What do you have in mind?”

Gabe shivered and slipped his boots off, taking his coat to hang up. “Um..” Gabe frowned and sighed. “I don’t know their genders so let’s do Max and Alex” He smiled, glancing outside at the small dirt patches. He sniffled and rubbed his nose before going into the kitchen to heat up more chicken for the third pup, coming back to let only it eat.

“Max and Alex are nice,” Sam nodded, rubbing his arms and hands as he tried to warm up. “How’s the third one doing?”

“I think well” Gabe mumbled, feeding the lighter colored corgi. “It’s a lot smaller than the other two, but I think it’ll do fine by the way it’s eating” He smiled. “Okay so, I’ve got the lightest brown one. A blonde corgi if you will. And then these two are different because this one,” He pointed to the one sleeping on the pillow. “Has orange legs, and this one” He pointed to the one curled up on the blanket. “Has white socks. So it’s easy to tell them all apart” He smiled, moving the blonde one to the blankets to watch it yawn and lay with its siblings.

Sam sat down next to him, almost reaching out to them but then drawing his hand back. “Uh- I’d touch them, but I’m really cold right now,” he laughed and sniffed a little.

Gabe laughed softly and sat the plate down on the ground so he could walk around to Sam, sitting in his lap. “Well I’m pretty warm” Gabe grinned, taking one of Sam’s hands to slowly slip under his sweater, adjusting to the coldness quickly as Sam’s hand rested on his hip. “Lucky for you. I’m a personal space heater” He grinned, pushing his warm hands to Sam’s cold cheeks.

Sam smiled a little and cuddled against him, face pressed against his neck and shoulder and his arms around his back. “Thanks.”

Gabe a soft noise in surprise, letting go of his face. “You’re welcome, baby” He mumbled, leaning into Sam a little before folding down his turtle neck to allow Sam better access. “Don’t be leaving any more hickeys though” He chided.

“Alright, alright,” Sam laughed, sighing softly as he relaxed a little.

“I mean, unless you want to” Gabe smiled teasingly, fingers playing with Sam’s hair.

“I mean, it’s not like we’re expecting visitors later tonight, are we?” Sam said half-jokingly.

“Just you, me, and the puppies” Gabe grinned widely down at Sam.

“Hm.. dang, we have kids now,” he laughed. “They’ll be crying all night.”

“Oh please, puppies are known to sleep all day and all night” He mumbled, smiling down at them. “Besides, it’s not like they know what we’re getting up to”

“True,” Sam grinned. “What’re they gonna do, open the door?”

Gabe sighed softly and shook his head. “Are you gonna be romantic or talk all night?” He laughed softly.

Sam snorted and sat up a little, brushing Gabe’s hair behind his ear before pressing a kiss to his jaw.

Gabe smiled widely, leaning a little awkwardly now that Sam was tickling him, pressing more kissing down his neck. He hummed gently, eyes fluttering closed as Sam bit and sucked gentle marks into his neck. “I love you” He whispered softly, watching the room slowly get darker as the sun set outside of their glass door.

“I love you,” Sam murmured back against his neck.

Gabe sighed softly, feeling Sam’s teeth graze his skin. Gabe had to bite his lip when he felt Sam bite down a little too painful than what he was expecting, making him help in surprise.

One of the puppies shot up from the bed and ran to the couch, almost falling over on itself so it could take Sam’s pant leg in its mouth, trying to rip it as the puppy shook it vigorously in his mouth. 

Gabe glanced down in confusion, hearing the grunting as he reached up to hold his neck, rubbing over the sore spot. Sam pulled back to look down at the puppy, holding back a laugh as he carefully lifted it up and away from his pant leg, then gently held it against his chest. “Excuse you,” he snorted, looking back to Gabe. “Did I hurt you?”

Gabe frowned and roughed over the spot again. “Yeah, a little” He mumbled, watching the small puppy bark in Sam’s face. Gabe stared with wide eyes as it barked and growled at Sam, but not going to hurt him. “What’s its problem?” Gabe frowned, reaching out to take the puppy in his hands. He watched it turn happy as soon as Gabe touched it and held it, practically rag dolling in his hands. “..Maybe he’s got damage from the cold or something” He suggested, going to hand him back to Sam only for the puppy to bark at Sam again.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “I think he just doesn’t like me. He’s probably attached to you since you picked him up.”

Gabe smiled a little and brought him closer, watching him lick his face. “But why doesn’t he like you then? You’re my fiancé.. Shouldn’t he smell me on you and you on me and stuff?” He frowned, pulling the puppy away to carefully bend down so he could sit him on the carpet, watching him flop on all fours and sleep.

“I dunno, maybe he thought I was actually trying to hurt you?” Sam shrugged, looking back at him. “Are you okay, by the way?”

“I’m fine” Gabe smiled, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “But you’re on to something there.. Maybe he thinks I’m some saving grace for getting him to a nice and safe place instead of that box” Gabe mumbled, feeling his neck again. “I really am fine by the way, there’s no blood or anything so we’re alright” He mumbled.

“Good,” Sam said with a soft sigh, glancing down at the puppy. “Don’t think this one will let us continue, though. He’s claimed you as his person and me as the guy who hurt his person.”

Gabe laughed at the way Sam phrased it and smiled. “We could continue quietly” He whispered, gently kissing Sam, jolting back when the puppy snapped sat him. Gabe frowned and hugged Sam tightly, watching as it snapped again. “No, I love him” He frowned, watching the puppy stare before sitting and barking again. Gabe pouted and turned to Sam, going to kiss him again before laughing when the dog barked rapidly at them. “On second thought I think you’re right”

“He thinks he’s really scary with that squeaky puppy voice of his, huh?” Sam joked. “Should we move to our room?”

Gabe laughed and shifted away from Sam on the couch. “Yeah” He mumbled, watching the dog relax once he’d seen they separated. He put a finger to his mouth and stood up to walk over to the stairs, gesturing for Sam to follow him. Sam smiled a little, starting to head for the stairs after him.

Gabe smiled softly, stopping when he heard the dog yipping from the bottom of the stairs. He glanced back at Sam and stopped to look down at him, frowning when he saw it was struggling to climb the carpeted steps, whining loudly when it kept falling back. Gabe bit his lip and turned to look at Sam. “Sam..” He whispered, looking into his eyes.

Sam huffed a little, raising his hands in defense. “I’m not doing anything!”

Gabe frowned, gesturing to the puppy who was whimpering and crying at this point. “I can’t just leave him down here..” He pouted. “Can he please stay with us?” Gabe begged softly. “..Please?” He whispered.

Sam looked down at the dog and sighed. “I guess, but don’t let him pee in our bed.”

Gabe smiled widely, bending down to kiss Sam before going to quickly pick his puppy up. He hummed as he carried it up the stairs, looking at the other two sleeping before making his way into their bedroom. He set the dog on the floor, scratching his head softly before taking Sam’s hand to pull him on the bed with him.

Sam crawled onto his side of the bed, scooting back closer to the headboard. “Happy Holidays,” he snorted. “You’ve got a dog.”

“Yeah, I do” Gabe smiled, shifting over so he could straddle Sam’s lap, wrapping his arms around Sam’s neck. “I’ve also got you for my Christmas present” Gabe smirked softly, raising Sam’s chin to press a kiss to his mouth.

Sam hummed in agreement, moving to hold his waist as he kissed him back. Gabe smiled happily, cupping Sam’s face to kiss him a little deeper before having to pull away when the dog was barking at him. Gabe frowned and glanced at Sam before leaning over the edge of the bed. “What?” He asked softly, watching the dog whine and reach up to try and climb the bed. Gabe frowned and shook his head as he reached down to pick him up. “You better behave if I put you up here” Gabe glared and set him next to Sam’s leg, watching him carefully as he curled up to sleep. Gabe smiled softly at the dog.

Sam sighed a little, leaning forward to lay his head on Gabe’s shoulder. Gabe glanced back at Sam and smiled, lifting his chin. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you” He grinned, pressing forward to kiss him again.

Sam smiled once they’d briefly pulled away. “I’d hope not, you live here with me,” he laughed, then leaned in to kiss him again.

Gabe laughed a little, moving to open his mouth, about to press forward when he felt a weight fall onto his leg. He frowned and reached back to find the puppy on his leg, whining when he’d been moved. “No, lay over here” Gabe frowned at him and turned back to Sam, opening his mouth for the kiss.

Sam moved forward again, ignoring the dog as he brought his hand up to brush through Gabe’s hair.

Gabe moaned slightly, feeling the tug in his hair, jumping when the dog back at Sam. Gabe sighed and frowned at him. “Look, buddy. You either need to be quiet or go somewhere else” He frowned, moving to take the puppy in his hands, easing him to the floor to set him down. “..Lay down and be good” He frowned before turning back to Sam with a huff. “Sorry” He mumbled.

Sam sighed through his nose and shook his head. “It’s fine, think he just wants all of your attention,” he said, giving a half-smile.

Gabe frowned and smiled at Sam. “Well it’s all yours so he’ll have to deal with it” Gabe whispered, pressing forward to kiss Sam again, feeling him roll them over as he blocked him in. Gabe smiled widely as he worked Sam’s shirt off, separating the kiss for just a moment to help pull his shirt off. Gabe gasped when Sam latched his mouth back onto his neck, voice high and whiny with need. Gabe bit his lip when he felt Sam lower his body, both their fronts rubbing together with delicious friction. “Ah-“ Gabe gasped, immediately losing his high feeling when the puppy began barking and howling from beside the bed. Gabe hummed as Sam continued biting at his neck but couldn’t stop the concern for his dog. “Wait” He mumbled, moving away to remove himself from Sam’s side, his attention directed to the side of the bed where his puppy was whining up at him, scratching at the bedside.

Sam let out a huff, sitting up to let him get up. “This dog and I are gonna have some problems,” he said in a half-whiny tone.

Gabe frowned and moved to get off the bed, picking him up. “He’s just a puppy, Sam..” Gabe whispered, anxiously shifting where he stood. “Are we gonna have to get rid of him..?” Gabe whispered, his eyes glazing over as he refused to cry.

"No, he can stay," Sam sighed, shaking his head. "But he's gonna have to learn he can't be with you twenty-four seven."

Gabe nodded quickly and turned the puppy around to smile at him. “Alright. Bedtime” He declared sternly, looking back up at Sam. “I’ll be back-“ He mumbled, taking the dog downstairs with his siblings to sit him there. “Sit. Stay. Bedtime” He repeated, watching the dog whine and reluctantly lay down. Gabe smiled and walked to the stairs, watching him. “Stay,” He said again, frowning before going back up to Sam, smiling widely as he shut the door behind him, leaning on it a little. “Ready this time?” He asked with a wide smile.

Sam gave a half-grin, nodding as he held out one hand, gesturing for him.

Gabe immediately started to take his shirt off, pants coming undone as he made his way to the bed.


	22. Chapter 22

Gabe rubbed his eyes vigorously and yawned, feeling Sam’s bulky arms wrapped around him. He tried to sit up, being stopping Sam squeezing him closer. Gabe sighed softly and turned over, throwing a leg over Sam’s hip. He moved to press a kiss to Sam’s lips, instantly pressing more to make sure he woke up.

Sam sighed softly as he slowly woke up, melting against him as he kissed back. He opened his eyes a little once they’d pulled away, smiling. “G’mornin,” he murmured tiredly.

Gabe smiled widely, kissing him one last time before shifting to sit up, Sam still not letting go of him. “Sam, loosen your grip, baby” He mumbled softly, patting his arms.

"Hm.. sorry," he yawned in response, moving his arm off of Gabe and up to his chest.

Gabe smiled softly and shifted away to find some clothes around. He took another turtle neck, knowing Sam left some marks last night and some of his skinny jeans that look good with his sweaters. He smiled, leaning over the bed to kiss Sam another time. “I’m gonna be in the shower” He mumbled. “Yell if you need me” Gabe whispered, kissing him one last time before stopping. “Unless you wanna join me for round two in the shower..” Gabe teased, poking his stomach lightly.

Sam laughed a little and curled away from his finger. "I just might," he teased back, looking up at him with a smirk.

Gabe smiled widely and kissed him again, lips staying close this time. “Well, you’ve got until I’m out of the shower to join me” Gabe smiled, pressing another kiss to Sam’s mouth before he walked to the door, stopping when he saw the same puppy from before in front of his door. It woke up almost immediately and looked up at Gabe happily, barking. “You wanna sit outside the shower?” Gabe laughed and turned left to the bathroom next to their room.

Sam smiled, stretching for a second before getting up from the bed to follow after him.

The puppy from before shot his head up at Sam’s entrance, barking and growling. Gabe frowned and pulled back the curtain to stare at him before rolling his eyes. “Ignore him” Gabe sighed.

“He’s not exactly a threat, he barely looks five months,” Sam snorted as he continued after him.

“I should probably take him to the vet” Gabe snorted softly, making room. After they were done, he turned the water off and reached for a towel, wrapping himself up before offering one to Sam with a smile. “Alright.. now it’s time to start the day”

Sam nodded, squeezing water from his hair before wrapping the towel around his waist. “We should check on the other two. We can’t just dote on the one and forget about the others.”

“I know, I know” Gabe whispered, wrapping the towel around his chest before staring at the dog. He sighed softly as walked past the puppy and into the hall. “I’ll get you another pair of pants” He called as the dog looked up from where he’s finished peeing and waddled after Gabe.

Sam stared down in annoyance at the dog, then huffed. “I’ll go get paper towel.”

“Good idea!” He called, stepping over the dog to walk back in the bathroom to set Sam’s clothes, taking his own clothes to get dressed.

Sam grunted to himself as he wandered down the stairs, glancing at the other two puppies before grabbing a handful of paper towel and heading back upstairs.

Gabe met him halfway down the stairs, smiling a little as he went to wake the other two and let them outside. He let them go slowly, slipping on his boots to step aside to show them it was safe this time. He closed the door after himself, shivering as his hair dripped water to the deck.

Sam came back down a while later, having cleaned up the dog's mess and gotten dressed, and frowned when he spotted Gabe outside. “Hey, you’re gonna get sick out here,” he pointed out as he opened the door.

Gabe turned to him and shrugged. “They didn’t want to go out” Gabe protested. “I think they’re scared they’ll be left again, besides, I’ve got a sweater” Gabe mumbled.

“Yeah, and wet hair,” Sam stated. “If they want to come back in, they will, now back your ass inside before you catch something.”

Gabe glared at Sam before taking a single step back so half of his back was inside. He crossed his arms and smirked as he watched the puppies hesitantly play in the snow, smelling around the dirt where their siblings were.

Sam squinted at him. “Wow, alright, walked into that one didn’t I?” He sighed loudly. “Could the rest of you come inside?”

Gabe hummed and shook his head, whistling for the dogs to come inside, counting the small puffballs as they jumped and tumbled on the deck. “Make me” He settled on, walking away to help one of the puppies who was struggling onto the deck.

Sam pressed his lips together, then took his towel from around his shoulders and placed it on Gabe’s head. “If you won’t come in at least cover your hair before it freezes, it’s cold as hell out here.”

Gabe jumped and looked up at him from under the towel, smiling widely as he rubbed it over his hair before standing up to come inside, slipping his boots off. “I’ll be fine” He whispered, putting the towel around the railing of the banner to the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

“You’ll be sick is what you’ll be,” Sam grunted, taking the towel and putting it in the hamper before coming back into the kitchen. “Breakfast?”

Gabe hummed softly as the dog sat near his feet, looking at the cabinets in thought. “..I don’t know what to do though” He frowned. “Something Christmas..” He frowned. “I should make cookies later” He rambled now.

Sam shrugged as he rummaged through the cabinets. “I don’t have a lot right now, still need to go shopping.. we pretty much just have cereal,” he sighed.

“How did you make a whole chicken?” He laughed, standing on his toes to look around before climbing on the counter. The dog whined, scratching at the counter to try and climb with him. “I think I found flour” He mumbled, looking in a bag.

“That was the last meal thing I had around,” Sam snorted. “What’re you gonna do with flour?”

“Bake cookies?” He asked with a smile. “We should probably go grocery shopping, huh?” He smiled, looking at Sam. “Are places open on Christmas Eve?”

“Some, I think. Not a lot though,” Sam shrugged. “What about the dogs? I don’t really trust puppies to be house trained.”

Gabe frowned and scratched his head before smiling. “I have an idea” He smiled, shifted off the counter and jumped down to walk from the room, coming back with the boxes from the living room, setting them in front of the kitchen. “Get inside the living room” He mumbled, grabbing the other dogs to set them in the kitchen. “The kitchens tile so it’ll be easy to clean up. We can box them off with the boxes for my room”

Sam nodded, taking a couple of boxes to stack up in front of the doorway. “Think we should post something to find homes for the other two? Or ask around maybe?”

Gabe’s eyes lit up as he watched Sam, his own puppy circling his feet. “You mean I get to keep mine?” He asked happily, the puppy on the ground even stopping to process the question.

“As long as you can take care of him, he doesn’t really like me so might be a little hard while you’re gone,” Sam sighed, shrugging with a small smile.

Gabe bounced on his toes before jumping on Sam to hug his neck. “Thank you!” He laughed, toes barely touching the ground where his puppy had decided to run to. It jumping up onto Sam’s legs, scratching at him to put Gabe down.

Sam hardly acknowledged it, since it didn’t do much damage being so small, and laughed along with Gabe before gently setting him down. “Seriously though, I doubt he’ll let me house train him.”

Gabe giggled a little, feeling the dog scratch at his pants. “I’ll train him. Promise” He smiled softly. “Before I leave” He nodded a little, leaning up to kiss him, ignoring the barking at his feet.

“Alright,” Sam smiled, taking a moment to kiss him back. “I’ll help as much as you can.”

Gabe grinned widely as he stepped back, looking down at the puppy trying to rip Sam’s pant leg. Gabe sighed softly, bending down to pick him up, forcing him to let go of Sam’s leg. “Someone is being very aggressive” Gabe whispered; scratching his belly as he held him as a baby.

Sam nodded, raising an eyebrow. “Should be a fun few months together, hm.”

“Yes, they will” Gabe mumbled in a baby voice as he brought the dog down to set him down in the kitchen, listening to him whine and watched him try and climb the heavy dog. “It’ll just be a few hours. Probably not even one” He smiled at the dog. “Bye baby” He teased and waved, completely ignoring Sam.

Sam rolled his eyes a little, but continued smiling as he walked out after Gabe. “Sure he hadn’t stolen all of your attention?” He said jokingly.

Gabe frowned as he zipped his coat up and smiled at Sam. “Oh please,” He mumbled, pulling his hat on further. “I’m still here with you, aren’t I?” He smirked, leaning up to kiss him before making his way to the car, instantly turning the heat on.

“That’s true,” Sam smiled as he got into the car.

“So.. not full attention” Gabe smiled widely and slowly pulled out into the road. “So, I was thinking, for times like these, we should get a baby gate. I know we’ll only have it until they’re grown up more, but I think until mine is house trained to keep him in there. And for situations where we want peace..” He added, trying to convince Sam.

Sam thought about it as he stared out the window, then slowly nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll post something about the other two, so they can find good homes.”

“We should probably getting their shots and collars of some sort until then- Oh we could little guy one!” Gabe grinned widely. “I want a blue one.. and a cute little tag” He suggested. “A bone one” He laughed.

Sam gave a half-smile and nodded. “Yeah I just uh, I can’t afford all of that right now.”

“Sam, don’t worry about it. I’ve told you so many times already that I’ll pay for it all. It’s not like we don’t make enough money” He smiled widely. “Just wait until Christmas. You’ll be chewing my ass out then as well” He muttered with a frown.

“No, I’ll be feeling bad because I can hardly afford gifts for you,” Sam frowned, resting his cheek against his fist.

Gabe shrugged and glanced at him. “So? Whenever I want something I just buy it. Plus, you can’t really top a dog for Christmas” Gabe grinned widely.

“I guess,” Sam shrugged. “Not the same, though.”

“Shut up and complain about money later” Gabe waved his hand a little as he parking the car and took his keys to get out, shivering from the cold. “I should’ve blow-dried my hair” He whispered.

“I told you, it’s cold,” Sam laughed softly, shaking his head. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

Gabe grumbled a little as he walked hastily on the salt-covered lot, making his way inside. “Alright.. So we’re doing junk food shopping and some pet shopping” He mumbled. “I think we should um.. Get a thing of dog food and put it under the cart.. and then start shopping for stuff. And get dog stuff. And then find our frozen foods” He smiled. “Game plan?” He asked.

“It’s a plan,” Sam grinned, grabbing a cart once they’d gotten inside. “Should we split up, make it out in a shorter time?”

Gabe pouted as he took off his coat and laid it in the basket park of the cart. “But I wanted to stay with you” He complained, removing his hat to move his wet hair around before pulling it back on.

“I know, but we can have more time together if we get done quickly,” Sam pointed out.  
Gabe frowned at Sam and hugged himself. “Fine..” He muttered, rather upset as he dug into his coat for his phone and turned to leave down a random aisle.

“I’ll meet up with you soon,” Sam promised before turning down another aisle.

Gabe crossed his arms and continued walking out of Sam’s view, going for quite a few minutes. 

He surfaced around Sam’s view about half an hour later, staring at the wall of candles and incense, smelling each one.

Sam smiled a little as he approached with some of their things. "Hey. Find any you like?"

Gabe jumped and glanced at him before frowning. “Uh.. not.. really” He mumbled softly, glancing away from Sam. He walked away a few feet to look at another one, smelling it, debating it before putting it back.

Sam shrugged, gesturing to the cart. "Well, I found most of the things we came for."

Gabe glanced at Sam and nodded a little, sniffling as he began walking back to the cart, struggling to even put his basket in the cart. Gabe frowned and slowly moved to Sam’s chest, moving his head to rest against Sam, just standing there.

Sam frowned a little, then rested a hand on his back. "You okay?"

Gabe sighed softly against him, wrapping his arms around him loosely. “..I hate shopping” He mumbled, pulling away to look up at him. “Everyone keeps coming up and either want pictures or answers or to see the ring..” Gabe mumbled, reaching up to scratch his ear anxiously. “I don’t know” He whispered.

Sam grimaced, rubbing his back gently. "Do you want to leave or do you think we can finish up here first?" he asked. "I don't mind, either way, we can always come back some other time."

Gabe shook his head and stepped back to walk around the cart. “No, but this is just why I wanted to stay together” He frowned, staring at the ground before walking in the direction of the frozen freezers.

Sam sighed a little and nodded. "I would've understood if you'd told me."

Gabe shrugged as he slowed down to walk with Sam. “I didn’t wanna argue” He mumbled softly, glancing away.

"No arguments," Sam shook his head, pulling a small smile across his face again. "Why don't we get stuff for your dog?"

Gabe shrugged, trying to put on a small smile before walking aimlessly with Sam.  
Sam nodded toward the pet aisle, heading there with him. "Alright- I wonder if he'll warm up to me if I bribe him with treats."

Gabe smiled a little at that, taking ahold of Gabe’s hand. “Maybe. Hey, do you think it’d be a good idea to get medicine and stuff for the winter season?” He asked, pointing to the medicine aisle that they were walking by.

"Probably. I usually end up catching something around now," Sam nodded, turning with him into the aisle. "I'm hoping neither of us do, though."

“I’m feeling it” He admitted, grabbing a bottle of pills, glaring at the bottle of liquid medicine. He stuck his tongue out, going to drop his pills in the cart. “Don’t even think about getting the cold medicine” He muttered.

"Some of it actually helps you, Gabe," Sam snorted, shaking his head. "I've got some extra stuff at home anyway."

“Well, I’m not taking it” He muttered and crossed his arms, facing away from Sam.

“I’m not making you. You have your pills,” Sam said, gesturing to the medicine.

Gabe nodded and walked away from the cart, down to the aisle with dog stuff.

Sam took the time to glance over ingredients on each of the puppy food bags, eventually settling on one and placing it in the cart.

Gabe smiled softly, feeling tired as he rubbed his head. “I really hope I’m not sick” He muttered, rubbing at his throbbing head.

Sam frowned a little, glancing at him. “You should probably take something. Just in case, when we get home.”

“Only if you feed it to me” He smirked a little, squinting when the bright lights burned his eyes. “Alright, I’m ready to go.. The frozens can wait until New Years” He whispered, rubbing at the pounding spot between his eyes, pulling the hat over the edge of them to block the sun.

Sam laughed softly, sighing. “Let’s hurry and pay so we can get home. I don’t want you sick.”

“Me either!” Gabe laughed, toying with his hat as he walked beside Sam, handing him things to scan, grabbing the hand scanner to scan the dog food and put it back. He handed Sam his card, hugging his bicep as he waited, cuddling into the arm happily.

Sam swiped the card once everything had been scanned, handing it back to Gabe before loading bags onto one arm. “Ready?”

“Yeah” Gabe smiled, watching him. “Do you need any help?” He asked.

“Ehh, I’ll be fine,” Sam insisted, shaking his head as he took a few more bags.

Gabe made a face and shrugged. “If you say so” He mumbled, lifting the bag of dog food over his shoulder to start slowly walking to the door. He sighed softly as he fumbled with the keys, almost dropping the bag and landing on his ass before getting the keys to unlock his car, popping the trunk.

Sam grunted as he set the bags down, rubbing his arms and sighing in relief. “You okay?” He asked Gabe, turning to face him.

“Yeah-“ He began, struggling to get it in the truck, panting once he’d gotten it halfway. “I forgot my coat though” He mumbled, stopping his struggle to walk to the cart and put his coat on.

“You’re definitely gonna get sick,” Sam sighed, smiling as he took the cart to a row and came back to the car with Gabe. “Okay. Time to head home.”

Gabe smiled, pushing the dog food the rest of the way in and calling it a dog to close it. “I need a nap, and medicine” He whispered, glancing back at Sam with a frown. “Would you mind driving?” He asked softly. “I don’t really up to it..”

Sam nodded, hesitantly putting his hand out for the keys. “Sure, no problem. You can nap on the way too.”

Gabe smiled and dropped the keys in his hands, walking to the passenger side, adjusting the seat to lay back. He buckled in, then turned on his side to sleep, cuddling into his coat.  
Sam smiled softly at him as he shut the trunk, got into the driver's seat, and started the car. He pulled out into the street and headed down the road, keeping quiet until they'd made it home, where he turned to Gabe to tell him to get up.

Gabe huffed out a grunt and cleared his throat that turned into a strong coughing fit, leading him to whine. He shivered, cuddling up to the seat and coat to keep warm. “I don’t wanna” He whispered.

"I'll get the groceries, you go and lay down, take some medicine," Sam insisted, tilting his head toward the house.

Gabe squinted into the bright lights, panting with fatigue as he shifted to sit up, immediately overheating. He whined and opened the door, taking off his hat with just barely damp hair to cool off.

Sam grabbed the bags from the trunk, bringing them all into the house in two trips. "Go relax. I'll get stuff done, okay?" he said softly, reaching into the bags until he found Gabe's medicine.

Gabe nodded softly, reaching up to start undoing his jacket zipper, getting it off shoulders as he leaned on the car.

Sam frowned a little, walking closer to hook his arm under Gabe’s and lead him inside.

Gabe was reluctant to walk, sighing softly once he’d gotten inside, walking a little away from Sam to fall on the couch, falling asleep immediately before a tongue against his face woke him up. He sat up and frowned at the dog he got and looked at the kitchen door with no openings. “How did you get out?” Gabe frowned, picking up the small puppy to set on the couch with him.

“Hm?” Sam hummed, stumbling a little as he barely avoided stepping in a puddle of pee. “God- ugh. Damn dog,” he groaned, walking to step over the boxes for paper towel.

Gabe frowned and scratched at his head before standing up. “You can’t really be mad at him.. He probably just got bored and then had to go outside” Gabe mumbled, holding up the puppy’s cute face. “He’s just a puppy” He pouted.

“I know,” Sam mumbled, pressing the paper towel into the carpet.

Gabe frowned and set the dog down on the ground so he could move the boxes back to the wall, letting the other puppies out. He smiled at them, opening the sliding door to watch them run out happily, his staying beside him. “Go on,” He gestured and frowned when he sat down. He frowned, glancing at Sam once before stepping outside with his dog, closing the door after he bound after Gabe, walking around on the deck.

Sam sighed as he tossed away the wet paper towels, making a mental note to borrow a carpet shampooer from someone, and glanced outside with a frown. He walked over and tapped on the window. “You’re still getting sick Gabe.”

Gabe groaned and glanced back at him, gesturing to the puppies as they finished and started playing. Gabe whistled to make them come, opening the door for them before coming inside. “I know, but the dogs aren’t going to go out unless someone’s with them. Plus, mine did his business. Like I said, he just needed to go out”

“I know, I’m just worried about you,” Sam sighed, pressing his lips together as he handed him the pill container.

Gabe glanced at the bottle and took it before heading up the stairs, leaving his puppy to whine and cry, slowly climbing up the steps until Gabe came back down for him.

“Can you handle eating food?” Sam called to him before he could head back upstairs. “I’m gonna get some, o can bring something up for you.”

“Dude I’m not dying!” He frowned, looking for Sam’s liquid medicine to take, immediately regretting it. He took his pills afterward with water and put them back in the cabinet. He called his dog to follow and carried him down the stairs. “I was just taking medicine” He smiled.

“Alright,” Sam sighed with a soft smile. “Sorry. Antsy.”

Gabe smiled, taking the blanket from off the back of the couch to curl up with on the couch, setting his dog on the floor with the other dogs. Gabe closed his eyes to try and sleep, feeling the puppy crawl between his thighs and stomach where he was curled up. Gabe reaches down to pet him before moving back to sleep. “Wake me when its time to go to my siblings?” He asked softly.

“I will,” Sam assured him, leaning down to kiss his forehead before backing off.  
Gabe smiled happily as he felt his dog flop on its stomach, laying next to Gabe’s chest, nose pressed to Gabe’s hands. 

About two hours later, Gabe was cuddling all three of the puppies while they laid on him. He didn’t make any move to get his phone in his back pocket while it rang, staying cuddling with the puppies.

Sam looked up from his book, rubbing his nose as he got up to answer for him. “Yeah?”

Gabe groaned, snuggling further into the pillow, pulling one of the dogs closer to his chest. 

“Sam?” Lucien asked softly before frowning. “Where’s Gabe?”

“Sleeping, he wasn’t feeling well so he took some medicine and a nap,” Sam explained, then glanced at the clock. “Shit, he needs to be over there doesn’t he?”

“Well yeah, but-.. You were supposed to come too” Lucien laughed. “I mean, Dean is coming and so is our friend Meg” Lucien explained. “It’s just a big family thing, so you’re obviously invited”

“Ah- right,” Sam laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Alright, you’re welcome to come and leave whenever you want” Lucien smiled widely, talking to someone in the distance before raising his phone back up. “Alright, I need to stop Balthazar from shoving thirty grapes in his mouth so I’ll see you soon” He rushed out before hanging up.

Sam snorted, then set the phone down and gently shook Gabe’s shoulder. “Hey. We have to leave.”

Gabe opened his eyes a little, immediately shaking his head so he could bury his face in the pillow, fingers gently scratching at his dog’s neck as the puppy slept.

“Gabe, Seriously, they’re waiting for us,” Sam insisted.

Gabe huffed and frowned, raising his free hand to rub his eyes. “Go get the baby gate” He mumbled in a hushed tone before moving to sit up, quickly looking back where one of the dogs had slid off his shoulder. He glanced around and smiled, finding his to scratch its stomach.

“It’s leaning against the wall next to the kitchen,” Sam told him, gesturing to the area.  
Gabe smiled and picked up the other two, letting his bounce after him, setting them in the kitchen. He moved his with his foot and put up the gate, keeping his back. “Hey, you can’t come” He laughed, adjusting the gate to make it sturdy. He stepped back and smiled as his dog tried to scratch at it. “No, you can’t come” He laughed, eyes widening when he saw his climbing the gate and tumbling to the living room floor, running up to his feet. “..Or.. maybe you might have to” he frowned deeply.

Sam sighed. “Ya know, we could keep them in the bathroom. Move the rugs and shut the door.”

“But I don’t wanna do that. They could find something to chew on that’s dangerous and get sick” He complained. “..Can’t we just take him with us?” Gabe asked softly.

“I-“ Sam huffed a little, shoulders slumping as he gave in. “Fine. We’re taking your car, though.”

Gabe laughing loudly as he picked up his dog and set him on his chest. “Aw, you’re gonna love my brothers!” He cheered, going to their bag of things to find his collar, adjusting it to fit the puppy. “Aw, so cute!” He grinned, messing with his ears happily.

“Maybe you can find homes for the other two, too,” Sam shrugged, gesturing to the door. “Ready to go?”

Gabe smiled, unraveling his leash to hook it onto his collar, picking him up. “Almost” He smiled widely, putting his coat on before crouching to pick up the dog and zip him up in his coat, slipping his shoes on. “Now we are” Gabe grinned, letting the dog move to poke his head out, licking Gabe’s chin.

Sam snorted. “Alright, goof. Let’s get going.”

Gabe laughed and took his keys to walk out the door before Sam, hopping down the steps with his puppy. “I’m not that big of a goof” He laughed and climbed into the driver’s side, turning the heat on.

Sam gestured to the dog with a smile, then slid into the passenger seat.

Gabe looked at the puppy who was enjoying the heater in the car, sticking his tongue out a little at it. Gabe shrugged and slowly pulled out into the road. “He doesn’t like the cold and you know it” Gabe mumbled, watching as the dog scratched at his coat until he was able to unzip it, putting his paws on the wheel just like Gabe was. “What the hell are you doing?” He laughed.

“You’ve got a copycat,” Sam joked with a sniff, smirking and pulling out his phone to take a picture.

“Stop,” Gabe laughed, glaring at him. The dog moved himself more to poke his head up over the road, watching cars pass as he stood on Gabe’s chest, front paws tapping on the wheel, almost dancing. “What the fuck are you doing?!” Gabe snorted, letting him dance.

"He's having a party," Sam laughed, rubbing his nose before going to turn up the music a little.

Gabe laughed as his dog danced a little more, wiggling his butt. “I love this dog” He snorted, letting the puppy do what he wanted.

“Well he certainly likes you,” Sam nodded, smiling. “We didn’t warn your brothers about him.”

Gabe frowned as he pulled into the apartment, shrugging. “Well, they’ll love him then” He laughed, taking the keys out to get out of the car.

Sam snorted and shrugged as he got out of the car and headed for the building with Gabe. “Cas and Dean too. And Meg.”

“They’ll love him” Gabe waved his hand and opened the car door to walk inside, walking to the elevator happily.

Sam smiled as he followed him into the elevator, leaning against the corner. “They will.”

“I hope so” Gabe grinned, patting his dog’s head before zipping his coat back up as the elevator door opened in his hall.

Sam smiled and nodded, watching the numbers go up on the elevator as they went up the floors.

Gabe jumped up and down as the doors opened finally, jogging happily to their door, opening it to walk inside, dog popping up to smell around. 

“Whoa-“ Lucien paused his attempt at a hug, staring at the dog. “What the fuck is that?” Lucien asked, getting his brothers’ attention.

“What?” Michael asked in confusion, looking at his twin.

Balthazar squinted as he got up and walked towards Gabe. “Oh my god, you brought a dog. Where the hell did you get a dog?”

Gabe laughed as he took off his coat, holding the puppy. “Um, freezing in a box down the street” He smiled softly before hanging up his coat, letting the dog sit on the floor with his leash. “This one.. loves me” He grinned. “The other two are just cute” He shrugged. 

“There’s more?!” Lucien gasped.

“We’re not getting more animals!” Michael huffed, squinting at Lucien. “You have too many reptiles to be taking care of a dog too.”

Balthazar held up his hands in mock defense. “Jeez, chill. We have to leave for the rest of the tour soon anyway, we couldn’t even if we wanted to.”

“Exactly.” Michael got up from the couch and walked over to the others to inspect the dog. “He is cute, though. What are you doing with them?”

“Hopefully getting homes for the other two,” Sam responded.

“We’re keeping this one.. Even though it doesn’t like Sam” He laughed. 

“Why doesn’t it like Sam?” Lucien asked. 

Gabe flushed and cleared his throat. “He thought Sam hurt me so now he doesn’t like Sam.. And he just wants to protect me. Mostly because we don’t think he can be relocated” He laughed softly.

“So he’s gonna stay with me and piss on my stuff while you guys are gone,” Sam nodded.

“He sure is!” Gabe grinned happily. 

“That sucks” Lucien whispered, bending down to let the dog sniff him and start licking his hand. “Hey, he likes me” He smiled widely, slowly going to pick him up, letting the dog run behind Gabe. “That’s okay” He mumbled, standing. 

“I think he’s just shy” Gabe mumbled, picking him up to hand him to Lucien. 

“Oh, so he trusts me if you trust me” Lucien smiled, holding the puppy against his chest. 

“Exactly! But,” Gabe smiled, taking him to hand him to Sam. The dog growled and immediately started barking, yipping furiously at him.

Sam nodded and shrugged. “Meh. He’ll have to deal with it if he’s staying with us anyway. Or I’ll have to deal with it. Either way.”

“Fun,” Balthazar scoffed. “Tell your things that I send my prayers. That dog will destroy everything you own.”

Gabe smiled and moved the dog to hold like a baby. “He will” He laughed, patting his head before kissing him. “And he will be my destructive baby”

“Ha ha, funny.” Sam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “So when’s Cas and my brother coming?”

“They’re on their way. Dean said something about wanting to be safe and how the road will be cleared in a few minutes by their house” Lucien smiled, watching Gabe before freezing. “What is that?” He asked, pointing to Gabe. 

“What?” Gabe asked. 

“That-“ Lucien frowned and pulled at Gabe’s turtle neck before freezing. He and Gabe made eye contact before he looked up to stare at Sam. “Sam?” He muttered. “Do you know what this is..?” He asked.

Sam simply stared back at him and shrugged. “Might.”

Lucien frowned and let go of his sweater. “And what is it?” He mumbled, glancing back at Gabe with a stern glare. 

Gabe only smiled innocently and held up the dog to his cheek happily.

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you think it is?”

Lucien’s eye twitched as he was about to open his mouth. “Don’t” Gabe stopped him and frowned at Lucien. “It’s Christmas Eve. Let it slide” He smiled widely. 

Lucien sighed but smiled afterward. “Alright,” He mumbled and glanced at Sam. “Just don’t do it while we’re going on tour” He joked. 

“You bet he will!” Gabe grinned. 

“Gabe!” Lucien laughed.

“I’ll be here, what am I gonna do?” Sam snorted, sighing a little. “Watching the dog and trying to get work done.”

Gabe laughed and moved back to lean against Sam, quickly putting the puppy down to look up at him. “Call and text me?” He pouted softly, laying his chin on Sam’s chest.

“‘Course I will,” Sam grinned, leaning down to kiss him quickly. “Couldn’t stop me.”

Gabe grinned with a soft laugh, reaching around him to hug him while the dog barked at him. Gabe sighed and let go of him. “I know, I can’t touch him. I know, I’m sorry” Gabe frowned at his dog, giving all of his brothers a laugh.

“Psh, you’re letting a dog order you around Gabriel,” Michael snorted. “He’s gotta know you’re in charge.”

Gabe frowned and looked at him. “But he just looks so cute and..” He blinked and pouted. “I don’t wanna be mean to him” He whispered.

“That’s where they get you,” Balthazar joked.

“Seriously, you can’t let him do whatever he wants,” Michael frowned. “Best time to teach them is when they’re puppies.”

Gabe sighed and leaning on Sam, listening to barking. He looked down and shook his head, the dog hesitating before stopping to sit down. Gabe widened his eyes and smiled a little. “Hey..” He mumbled softly. 

“There you go” Lucien smiled widely.

“Now work at it. And don’t freak out if you have to yell, he’s a puppy and doesn’t know better,” Michael, satisfied as he sat down.

Sam smiled a little. “We’ll work at it.”

Gabe nodded. “So will Sam, when I’m not there” Gabe grinned and looked up at someone in the kitchen, immediately shoving his leash into anyone’s hands as he ran to the kitchen. “Raph!” He yelled, opening his arms to hug the tall man. 

“Gabe!” He laughed, picking his brother easily to spin him around with a tight squeeze, rubbing Gabe’s back as he cried. 

The puppy whined in Sam’s hands, pulling on the leash as he barked and tried to run after Gabe.

“No, bud, don’t pull,” Sam said sternly, walking forward to follow after Gabe.

“Oh yeah- Raphael’s here,” Michael mumbled from the couch. “Forgot to tell you.”

“You also forgot to thank him for getting our tour dates rearranged twice,” Balthazar pointed out.

Gabe laughed softly as he sobbed into his brother’s shoulder, squeezing him tightly. 

The dog ran in place as Sam held the leash, whining and walking in a circle until he was satisfied, still anxiously pacing around Raphael’s foot, smelling him.

Sam smiled a little, keeping a tight hold on the leash as he stood back.

“I’m making it up to him, chill out,” Michael huffed.

Gabe sighed softly as he was set down, immediately smiling at Raphael. “It’s been years” He complained. 

“I know. I actually got to come home this year” He laughed and rubbed his brother’s head “I missed you especially”

“I bet, I always listened to your overseas stories” He mumbled and grinned. “That and I could fit in your military backpack” He snorted. 

“I remember the time Gabe tried to go with you and hid in your bag” Lucien laughed. “You got halfway to Georgia before you realized Gabe was in your bag because he said he had to pee”

“I was like seven” Gabe mumbled, laughing softly.

“So is this another one of your brothers?” Sam asked curiously, looking Raphael over before holding out his free hand. “Hey. I’m Sam.”

Raphael smiled and gladly took Sam’s hand to shake it.

“Sam, this is Raphael, or as we like to joke, Staff Sergeant Novak” He laughed. “He’s in the marines, you didn’t know by now” Gabe snorted. 

“Well, who’s this?” Raphael asked, the small puppy standing on his shoes, jumping on his leg. 

“Oh-“ Gabe laughed, bending down to pick up the dog. “This is my dog” He grinned. “I just got him today” He mumbled, reaching out to take Sam’s hand. “And this is my fiancé, Sam.. I’ve had him for longer than a day” He whispered jokingly.

“Sam Winchester, my brother Dean will be here later too, with Cas,” Sam nodded, smiling as he gently squeezed Gabe’s hand.

“He also helps us out with show dates from time to time, along with Cas,” Balthazar said as he came into the kitchen, hopping up onto the counter to sit.

“He’s pretty much our manager” Gabe shrugged. “Or baby sitter”

“I did raise most of you” Raphael mumbled around his drink. “When I was home” He laughed and smiled at Gabe’s dog again as it began licking at Gabe’s neck. 

“Stop,” Gabe laughed, moving away from his tongue 

“Sam,” Raphael turned to smile at him. “You shouldn’t leave such noticeable marks on my brother” He frowned. 

“We’ve been over this-“ Gabe laughed. “And besides, it was my idea”

“Gabriel!” Lucien gasped.

Sam gave a little shrug, smiling. “I mean, he is an adult. I don’t let Dean tell me what I can do anymore.”

“You don’t?” Dean asked as he closed the door behind him, helping Cas to take off his coat. 

“Cas!” Raphael smiled widely, waving to him happily.

Cas looked up at his voice, then grinned. “Raphael! I didn’t think you’d be here,” he said, walking forward to hug him quickly.

“No, I don’t,” Sam laughed as he turned around. “Hey, Dean.”

Raphael smiled, patting Cas’ back as he hugged him.

“Whoa, you got a dog,” Dean noticed, immediately crouching to let him smell him, the dog licking his hand happily.

“Does he like everyone except me?” Sam asked, pressing his lips together as he squinted at his brother.

“Hm? Oh,” Cas blinked rapidly as he looked down at the dog. “Aren’t you leaving soon Gabe?”

Gabe frowned and shrugged. “Yeah, but I found this guy and two other puppies in a box down by the store” He explained. “At first I thought only two survived, so I took them home and when I went back to get the three so we could bury them, I found this little guy was actually still breathing so I tried to warm him up and he responded well so.. we kept them all” He smiled. “This one just doesn’t wanna leave my side” He laughed. 

“Wait, why’d you deliberately go to get dead puppies so you could bury them?” Dean frowned. 

“Dean, I have beliefs that others don’t. They didn’t get a chance in life, so I felt the need to at least let them rest in the afterlife” Gabe shrugged. “Or something like that” He laughed. 

Raphael smiled softly, putting a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “You were always the most caring brother” He mumbled. 

“It also made me a doormat” Gabe muttered, looking down at the dog who was just staring up at him peacefully.

“I wouldn’t say doormat,” Balthazar said, shaking his head. “Just care too much.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Sam said, then gestured to Dean. “So does he.”

“Yes, I know, but it’s sweet,” Cas shrugged, kneeling next to Dean to pet the dog.

Dean glared at Sam, pouting a little. “Shut up” He muttered.

Gabe smiled, watching his dog smell Cas and immediately go to crawl in his lap, licking at his face excitedly. 

“Manners!” Gabe chided, watching the dog back down, looking up at Cas expectantly.

Cas wrinkled his nose as he laughed, standing up to avoid being licked again. “What are you doing with them all?”

“We’re keeping this one and trying to get rid of the other two. I’m not apposed to keeping all three, but Sam says we can’t”

“Cas, do you want one?” Dean smiled widely. “It’ll bring some life to our place” He teased, pinching at Cas’ sides. “Come on, it’ll be cute”

“Hey! Stop,” Cas laughed, grabbing his hands. “Maybe. I want to see them first. Should I assume the ‘no dogs in the Impala’ rule still stands?”

Dean grimaced and sighed softly. “..I could make a small exception. But only sometimes” He whispered. 

Gabe grinned and took his brother’s hands. “Please?” He asked. “Then we could have play dates with the dogs” He smiled.

"I said maybe," Cas responded with a small smile. "I think I prefer cats. But Dean's allergic, so they're out."

"What about asking Meg when she gets here?" Michael suggested, walking into the kitchen with Lucien.

"Meg doesn't really like a lot of animals," Cas shook his head.

“Come on!” Gabe pleaded. 

Dean hummed and shrugged. “I’m not even sure our place allows them so we’d have to check first”

"Shit- that reminds me, I need to talk to the landlord," Sam sighed, brushing a hand over his hair. "We might need to pay a pet fee."

“That’s okay” Gabe smiled widely. “I’ll pay for it” He shrugged casually before smirking a little. “You’re gonna hate your Christmas present” He joked.

"Wh- why?" Sam laughed, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him.

“Because you’re gonna hate me for it” Gabe laughed. “Not really, but you’re definitely going to have some upset feelings towards me” He settled on.

"I'm.. mildly concerned, but okay," Sam responded, sniffing and rubbing his nose. "I'm tempted to ask what it is."

Gabe frowned at him and shook his head. “You’ll love it” He mumbled before crossing his arms. “Are you getting sick?” He asked accusingly.

"What? No, I'm fine, I feel fine," Sam said insistently, shaking his head. "I'll be fine."

Gabe frowned at him, already knowing he was lying. He sighed and let it go, taking his hand. “If you say so” He whispered softly. “Now- Let’s listen to Christmas music and put up the tree!” He grinned widely.


	23. Chapter 23

Gabe was the first to wake up the next morning, too warm to get out of bed as he snuggled closer into the pillow before yawning and sitting up. He scratched at the puppy’s collar before shifting to slide out of bed, tiptoeing down the stairs to let the other puppies out. He smiled and insisted that they go alone and would wait inside for them. After letting them back in, he glanced at the time, finding it to be far too early. He decided to make coffee for Sam and hot chocolate for himself, letting the dogs run after him, scratching at his legs. He quickly fed them and gave them fresh water as well. He moved to sit on the floor with his drink, petting his puppy as it ate. He moved his drink back to the counter and yawned, letting his head fall back against the counter.

Sam wandered down a little bit later, sniffing more and rubbing his eyes, the sunlight reflecting off of the snow giving him a bit of a headache. "Hm- mornin'," he mumbled, hardly registering the coffee cup on the counter as he slid to the floor next to Gabe.

Gabe looked up at him and smiled a little before setting his head on Sam’s shoulder. “..Merry Christmas” He mumbled with a yawn before raising his head to kiss Sam’s cheek. “Are you okay? You don’t look too good..” He whispered.

"Fine," Sam nodded slowly, eyes closed tightly against the light. "Throat's just kinda sore. Probably the cold air." He tried to continue and was cut off by a short cough, then harshly cleared his throat. "I'm fine."

Gabe frowned and pushed at his shoulder. “Go get some medicine. Now. And after, I’ll make you some eggs and we can open gifts.. Now go” He mumbled, shooing him.

"I don't need medicine, I'll be fine," Sam insisted, moving to stand up, finally noticing his coffee and reaching for it.

Gabe frowned as he got the eggs out, turning the stove on. “It won’t hurt you. Now go take some, or else you’re getting your Christmas present today”

“Seriously, it’s not that bad,” Sam shook his head with a huff. “I’ll be over it by tomorrow.”

“Sam” Gabe snapped, staring at him. “Medicine, now,” He said sternly, frowning. “Go”

Sam stared back at him for a moment, then sighed as he rubbed his nose. “Fine. I’ll take ibuprofen.”

Gabe glared at him, reaching up to take ahold of his bicep. “More than that” He muttered, frowning as he let go of him. “Now go take some medicine” He sighed.

Sam blinked, considered it, then started up the stairs. “Ibuprofen.”

“Sam!” He yelled before rubbing his own head. “Don’t make me come up there!” He snapped.

“I told you, I’m fine! It’s barely allergy symptoms!” Sam called down, coming back a couple of minutes later as he was swallowing the pills.

Gabe glared at him, turning the stove off as he walked to Sam. “Go upstairs” Gabe mumbled, pushing as his arm as he led him to the stairs. “Go right back up there”

“What? No, Gabe, I’m fine. You can kill me later if I’m wrong,” Sam said as he pulled away from his grip.

“I won’t have to if you get sick and die!” Gabe glared up at him before his face softened at his word choice. “..I’m sorry” He mumbled, putting his hand down.

Sam quieted, licking his lips for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s- it’s fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” he said, hastily changing the subject. “So anyway, I probably couldn’t afford as much as you gift-wise, but I did my best, so uh..” he started, inching toward the living room.

Gabe stayed by the kitchen door, frowning as he crossed his arms a little. “It’s okay..” He whispered, lip doing a strange quip as he tried not to cry. He bent his head down, watching his puppy run between his legs and look up at him happily.

Sam continued in his way to the small gathering of presents, shaking a little as he sorted through them. “Um, uh, I think- I think this is it,” he said, nodding continuously as he spoke. “Yeah, yeah, this is it,” he confirmed to himself, then headed back for Gabe.

Gabe looked up, slowly taking the box before lowering it in his hands. “..Are you okay?” He whispered softly. “I didn’t.. I didn’t mean to” he mumbled, fingers anxiously rubbing at the gift in his hands.

“It’s- I’m- I know, I’m not mad at you,” Sam said, head shaking slightly as he brought his hands together in front of him for a moment, then dropped them, fidgeting with his pants. “I’m fine. Let’s just.. open presents, okay?”

Gabe shook his head and took Sam’s present to just push it back into his hands. He stood for a moment before leaving to the stairs, slowly climbing them as his dog tried to follow. Gabe didn’t care to glance back as he continued walking, ignoring the whining and crying of his puppy. 

The dog panted softly, trying to climb the stairs frantically, only falling down to the bottom with a cry of distress, trying it again. Sam frowned a little and opened his mouth to call after him, momentarily being cut off with a harsh cough. He sniffed and looked down at the dog, picking him up and carrying him up the stairs, not caring if he bit at him.

Gabe moved to the bed, sitting down heavily before he fell to his side, staring blankly at the wall. The dog wiggled and moved in Sam’s hands, whining but not biting him. He did move to jump onto the bed when he got the chance, crawling and laying in front of Gabe’s face. 

“..Hi, puppy” Gabe whispered, reaching out a hand to pet him.

Sam sat on the corner of the bed, the box still in one hand. “I’m- I’m really not mad at you,” he mumbled.

Gabe made a face and let his dog lick his cheek. “I know” He mumbled, sitting up to wipe his face off, the dog jumping into his lap. “I just need a minute” He sighed.

Sam nodded in understanding, starting to stand up. “I can um- I can wait downstairs.”

Gabe glanced around, not saying anything before shrugging. “Can you lay with me?” He asked softly, holding the puppy to his chest.

Sam looked back at him and nodded, climbing into the more empty side of the bed and pressing his face against Gabe’s shoulder with a shuddering sigh and another cough.

Gabe frowned, burying his face into the pillow before quietly crying. He brought the dog up to his neck so it could comfortable. He exhaled deeply before reaching up to rub his eyes. “Are we... I-“ He sighed again and scratched over his scalp, pulling out a few strands. “I feel like we’re not okay..” He whispered.

Sam looked up at him, jolting a little. “What- what do you mean?”

“I don’t know” He shrugged away from Sam anxiously. “I love you.. but I feel like we’re never gonna her better and all we’re ever going to do is have misunderstandings and be upset..” He mumbled, sniffling as the dog licked at his tears.

Sam frowned and sat up, a little shaken. “I’m- I.. What do you- what do you think we should do then?” he asked, voice slipping into a whisper mid-sentence.

Gabe instantly shot up, staring at him. “Work it out, Jesus!” He cried, setting the dog down so he could hug Sam tightly. “I want to work it out!” He yelled, almost choking Sam as he hugged him around his neck. “I don’t want you to leave again..” He grumbled, playing with Sam’s hair. “Please don’t leave again..”

Sam made a soft noise shook his head, hugging him tightly in return. “I don’t want to, I don’t want to,” he repeated, turning his head away slightly as he coughed again. “I’m happy with you, I-I am.” He thought for a moment and sighed against his shoulder. “Do you think talking more would help? Opening up more I mean.”

“Yeah” Gabe mumbled, carefully pulling away to smile at him. “Maybe.. later” He laughed and rubbed his eyes, looking down at the puppy in between them, laying with a grumpy whine. “How did he even get up here?” Gabe laughed softly.

“I brought him,” Sam shrugged with a small laugh. “He kept falling down.”

“He let you carry him?” Gabe mumbled, picking him up to cradle him, scratching his stomach.

“Well, Yeah, for the most part,” Sam nodded. “He didn’t bite me, so that’s a plus.”

“Aw, you do love Sam!” Gabe smiled, holding the puppy up to his face before seeing his uninterested face. Gabe’s smile flattened before he whispered, “Do you love me?” He grinned, the dog happily barking and opening his mouth. “Aw!” He laughed.

Sam snorted drawing his knees up to hug them and rest his chin on them. “Ah well. He’ll learn to tolerate me,” he joked, coughing louder.

Gabe frowned and moved to put a hand on Sam’s knee. “Please take some medicine..” He mumbled.

Sam sighed and made a face. “I don’t wanna.”

Gabe frowned, looking down at the bed. “..Sam” He whispered softly.

Sam grumbled and pressed his mouth against his arm. “Fine.”

Gabe smiled, pushing on his knee a little. “Then go” He laughed. “Or do you want me to feed it to you?” He teased.

“No,” Sam snorted, sniffing and huffing as he moved off of the bed. “If it doesn’t work you have to take care of me,” he joked.

“I can do that” Gabe called, rolling the small puppy along the bed, watching him flop around and bark. Gabe laughed, picking him up to place a kiss to his nose, letting him lick his face.

Sam smiled as he left, coming back a little bit later. “Okay, done.”

Gabe smiled brightly as he picked up the dog and stood up, dropping the present to the ground after him. “Oh-“ He whispered, bending down to pick it up, offering it to Sam. “Sorry” He laughed softly.

“It’s yours,” Sam smiled, gesturing to it. “Open it.”

“Oh- duh” Gabe laughed softly, sitting on the edge of the bed to put the puppy down, frowning when he went to chew on it. “Hey, mine!” He scolded, frowning at the dog as it laid between his legs. Gabe glanced at Sam as he hesitantly undid the wrapping.

Sam smiled back at him, leaning forward a little to see inside as if he hadn’t ever seen it before. Gabe looked up at him with a laugh before setting the paper aside, opening the box.  
The box contained a gold and silver angel wing necklace, and two keychains; one being a platypus and the other being a Ring Pop.

“I figured they seemed like you,” Sam shrugged, rocking back and forth on his knees.  
Gabe laughed softly and set them on the bed so he could get the necklace out of the box to put on. He smiled as he stood up to hug Sam. He grinned widely, squeezing him a little. 

The dog sniffed at the box before biting on the cardboard flap, shaking it in his mouth violently to make the keychains shake.

Sam laughed and hugged him back, raising an eyebrow at the dog. “Excuse you- those aren’t yours.”

Gabe pulled away and turned to laugh at the dog, going to stop him. “You can’t hate them just because they’re from him” Gabe mumbled, taking the keychains happily. “Oh! Your gift-“ He mumbled and frowned. “It’s not.. a physical thing though” He explained.

“Oh?” Sam tilted his head in curiosity. “What is it?”

Gabe laughed softly as he messed with the keychains anxiously. “I uh.. Oh- I have the bill” He mumbled softly, taking his puppy and running down the stairs happily to start rummaging around on the kitchen counter for the paper.

“Bill?” Sam echoed in confusion, following slowly behind him.

Gabe smiled widely as he turned to Sam and offered him the paper, folding the total behind it. He moved it a little in his hands, showing the next two years of Sam’s college completely paid off.

Sam gaped a little, putting a hand over his mouth as he stared at the paper. “I- you did that for me?” he laughed happily, reaching forward to take the paper and look over it himself before moving forward to hug him tightly. “I don’t know what to say, I- thank you!”

Gabe jumped, struggling to hug him back from his position before mumbling out. “I’m sorry it wasn’t anything materialistic” He smiled, fingers squeezing at Sam’s shirt.

“Hush, this is perfect,” Sam grinned, pulling away after another moment.

Gabe smiled widely as he got to lean back on the counter. “You think we should be getting those dogs to owners now?” He asked with a wide smile, letting all three of them climb on his feet.

“Probably. Dean sounded vaguely interested,” Sam nodded. “Just one more person.”

“Charlie and Kevin?” Gabe asked with a soft smile. “Do you think either of them wants one?”

“Hm.. Charlie might, not sure about Kevin. He’d probably be too busy, knowing him,” Sam said, nodding to himself. “Could call Charlie.. or a few other friends.”

“Let’s wait” Gabe instantly insisted, taking ahold of Sam’s hands to pull him closer to the living room, the puppies following them. “How about.. you get some movie set up. And blankets for a cuddle session on the couch, and I make some cookies for us” He whispered, leaning up to kiss Sam.

Sam brightened and nodded once they’d pulled away. “I’ll be waiting,” He grinned, backing out of the kitchen and going to make a setup on the couch.

Gabe laughed softly, starting his baking quickly, pausing partway through to bring Sam a hot chocolate to set on the table in front of him. “I’m not quite done” He complained, letting his puppy jump on the couch and bark at Sam. “Oh yeah?” Gabe smirked, straddling Sam’s waist on the couch before burying his face into Sam’s neck. 

The puppy whined before laying down peacefully, only to raise his paws and cover his eyes.

Sam smiled, wrapping his arms around his back. “Think he’s learning?” he asked with a laugh, covering up a short cough.

Gabe frowned before nodding, moving up to kiss him again. And again. He moved up to hold Sam’s jaw as he kissed him, pressing soft kisses all over his face. 

The dog whined and yawned at them before jumping down, almost falling over himself, and ran into the kitchen to smell around.

Sam hummed a little and moved his hand up to card his fingers through Gabe’s hair, pulling him in closer.

Gabe grinned widely against Sam’s face before leaning away. “Alright, let me go” He patted Sam’s shoulder.

Sam smiled a little as he loosened his grip. “I couldn’t really decide on a movie, so I just chose three and set them on the table.”

“Let’s do all three” He smiled and moved to sit up, bending down again to kiss him before heading into the kitchen again to work on his cookies.

“Sounds good,” Sam snorted, leaning against the arm of the couch while he waited.  
Gabe came back a good twenty minutes with a plate for Sam and set them on the table. “Would you like to join me while I make the family’s cookie tins?” He asked softly.

“Cookie tins?” Sam sniffed and tilted his head, the nodded. “Sure, I can try. But uh, I should probably warn you that this definitely hasn’t gone away yet.”

Gabe shrugged and continued walking into the kitchen. “My brothers can deal with it” He laughed.

Sam snorted and coughed a little, then got up to follow him. “If you say so.. ow,” he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose before sniffing again and continuing into the kitchen.

Gabe frowned and turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?” He asked softly, staring at him anxiously.

“Huh? Oh, nothing, just some weird sinus headache I think,” Sam shrugged.

Gabe smirked a little and rolled his sleeves back up from where he was working with his dough. “Should’ve taken that medicine sooner” Gabe smiled widely, rolling his dough around before flattening it.

“I know, you were right,” Sam laughed, rolling his eyes. “Still want me touching your food?”

“..Maybe not” Gabe mumbled softly, messing with the dough as he rubbed his hands over it. “I don’t know. I honestly just didn’t want you sitting being bored as I worked.. plus I.. really wanted you near me” He mumbled, shuffling his fluffy socks against the tile, his puppy laying beside his feet.

“I could just sit in here,” Sam suggested, sliding to the floor as he continued to sniff and clear his throat.

“But that’s not what I wanted either” Gabe complained as his puppy move to sit between Sam and Gabe. He sighed softly as he lazily cut out shapes to lay on the tray.

“I don’t want to give you any of my germs,” Sam sighed, bringing his knees up to hug again.

“Sam we literally made out like five seconds ago, get your ass up here and love me” Gabe pouted.

“.. Fair.” Sam stood up with a grunt, standing behind him and wrapping his arms around his middle, resting his chin on his shoulder.

Gabe smiled happily as he leaned into Sam’s back, enjoying his warmth. He cut another tree out to set on the pan and went to cut out another shape, slicing his finger in the process. He gasped and tensed up, pulling the finger into his mouth quickly.

Sam jumped and straightened up. “Are you okay?”

Gabe let go of his finger to watch more blood flow, immediately taking it back into his mouth he whined and shook his head, ripping off the dough with his blood to throw it away before he was reaching into the counters for bandaids, stepping away from Sam to wrap his finger up, hand shaking with adrenaline. “Yeah..” He mumbled, rubbing his finger a little.

“Are you sure?” Sam pressed, gingerly taking his hand to check it.

Gabe nodded and smiled a little. “I’ll just have to be more careful next time” He whispered, throwing away the bandaid wrapper against the doorway, under the mistletoe.

Sam hummed in thought, still anxiously checking his hand before letting it go with a sigh. “Yeah.” He turned his head, pressing his lips together as he went to pick up the trash.

“Ha!” Gabe grinned, pulling him in by the collar of his shirt. “I’ve tricked you!” He grinned widely, wrapping his arms around Sam’s neck before pointing up at the mistletoe.

Sam glanced up and laughed, bending down to kiss him. “Still a goof,” he teased when he’d pulled away.

“Am not” He whispered, kissing him again softly. “I like to think of myself as a dumbass” He grinned with a laugh, feeling the puppy move between their feet as he threw a fit. “Your goof is down there” Gabe mumbled.

“That one's yours, he doesn’t like me,” Sam laughed, resting their foreheads together.

Gabe moved his head to push it into Sam’s neck, closing his eyes. “He’s our goof” He mumbled softly before abruptly pulling away to crouch on the ground with his dog, messing with him.

Sam smiled and nodded, rubbing his nose as he crouched down with him. “Even if he prefers you.”

“He’s still a baby. I’m sure when he grows up he’ll learn that you’re his dad” Gabe mumbled and moved to sit down to take the puppy into his lap.

“Maybe,” Sam hummed, covering his mouth and turning away as he coughed harder, then set his head on Gabe’s shoulder.

Gabe frowned and let go of the dog so he could hug Sam, stroking through his hair. “Are you going to be okay?” He asked softly, starting a small braid.

Sam nodded slowly, stopping mid-nod and shrugging. “Probably. I don’t know. Don’t let me ruin our holiday fun, huh? You’ve still got another present to open. I wrapped it separately.”

Gabe groaned and laughed with a sigh before letting go of him and glancing up at the cookie tray. “Let me finish my baking” He mumbled softly, moving the dog off of his lap, holding Sam’s shoulder as he stood up, patting his hair as he walked past.

Sam nodded and stayed sitting on the floor, head leaning back against the wall and eyes closed. The puppy whined on the floor, watching Gabe move around before he jumped into Sam’s lap. He stayed facing Gabe instead of paying attention to Sam, but stayed content enough to sit down.

Sam jumped a little at the sudden weight, looking down in confusion before going back to his previous position. “Gabe.”

Gabe hummed in acknowledgment, cutting another shape out before looking down at him. He stared in confusion and smiled a little. “What, baby?” He asked with a wide smile, the dog barking and wagging his tail happily.

“He’s tolerating my presence,” Sam said jokingly, shutting his eyes tighter against the light.

“I told you he would get used to you” Gabe mumbled before frowning at him. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm. Head just hurts,” Sam mumbled.

Gabe frowned and crouched back down to put a hand on his shoulder. “Try and go lay down in the living room or the bedroom” He smiled softly. “A nap might make you feel better” He decided.

“Mm,” Sam grumbled, resting his arm over his eyes. “Don’t wanna stand.”

Gabe frowned and stood up to walk away for a second before coming back with a pillow and blanket for Sam. He moved the dimmer on the kitchen to a lower light and closed the curtains to make it dark. “Then take a nap in here and I’ll wake you when I need you” He whispered, petting his hair before kissing his temple.

Sam mumbled something indecipherable, taking the pillow to press his face into. Gabe grinned widely as he peacefully finished his cookies and making the tins for all his brothers to set aside. He looked down to find Sam asleep, surrounded by the puppies, his puppy cuddling into Sam’s face. Gabe couldn’t help but take a picture to put on their twitter page. Sam mumbled in his sleep, taking to hugging the pillow. He sniffed again and sighed as he settled.

Gabe grinned as he shook his shoulder a little, poking his face. “Sammy” He whispered, petting his hair. “I’m all done, babe” He smiled.

Sam opened one eye to look at him, then sat up a little and looked around him. “When did they get here?”

“You were probably warm” Gabe smiled, still stroking through his hair. “Do you want to move to the couch now?” He asked, moving his dog to stop him from licking Sam’s face.

“Hm..” Sam considered it, sniffing again and clearing his throat before nodding. “It’s more comfortable than the floor anyway. Besides, we still have our movie.”

“If you’re still up for that” Gabe smiled. “Or we can cuddle and just sleep while they play in the background” He suggested. “Or you can lay in my lap and sleep while I make a mess of your hair” He teased.

“I’ll still watch the movie, I’ll just most likely still feel like shit the whole way through,” Sam shrugged with a laugh.

Gabe frowned and patted his head as he stood up. “Come on, let’s go get you on the couch” He offered his hands out to Sam, ready to help him up.

Sam grunted as he pulled himself up, keeping hold of Gabe’s hand as he steadied himself. “Alright, Alright. Are we taking cookies?”

“Only if you want some” Gabe smiled, bending down to pick the pillow and his puppy up, leaving the other two to whine and jump on his legs.

Sam went to take a couple of the cookies before following him to the couch, flopping down with a soft huff. “Ready?”

Gabe smiled widely as he crawled in next to Sam, leaning on his shoulder. “Maybe, do you wanna lay down and me on top of you or do you wanna lay on me?” He asked, mumbling into Sam’s shoulder.

“Doesn’t matter,” Sam murmured, leaning down more and more until his head was in Gabe’s lap.

“Babe, I love you but please don’t make me sit up and have to sleep” He whispered, slowly moving Sam up so he could lay down, moving his legs as he pulled Sam closer. “Come lay on me” He smiled, making grabby hands.

Sam grunted as he moved forward and rested his head on Gabe’s chest. “Better?”

Gabe smiled widely as he rubbed Sam’s shoulders, moving to play with his hair. He stroked his fingers through Sam’s hair as he set up the first movie. The puppy huffed from the floor, whining before jumping onto Sam’s leg, struggling to climb up it before walking over his body to happily lay on his back. 

“Hi Loki” Gabe smiled softly, reaching forward to pet the dog.

“Loki?” Sam repeated, looking up at him as best he could. “That the name you’ve decided on?” He looked down at the dog and smiled. “Fitting.”

Gabe laughed and smiled widely. “I think so anyway” He whispered, pressing a kiss to Sam’s lips.

Sam hummed in agreement, relaxing against him again once they’d pulled away to watch the movie. Gabe smiled happily as he scratched through Sam’s scalp most of the movie. After the first movie, he switched it to another Christmas movie and brought Loki up to his chest to cuddle for the next movie. Sam continued to stifle coughs throughout both of them, keeping himself against Gabe’s side. Gabe took a deep breath, exhaling softly as he finally fell asleep with the puppy on his chest, hands limp in Sam’s hair.

Sam dozed off for a minute or two, waking up soon after when he couldn’t breathe out of one nostril. He huffed in irritation, settling for continuing the movie.

Gabe jumped awake in a slight shock before he relaxed again, holding Loki still before realizing Sam was on him. He hummed a little and rubbed his eyes. “Can we switch?” He asked softly, petting Sam’s hair. “You’re kind of crushing me” He whispered.

Sam attempted a sniff and nodded, sitting up. “Sorry,” He said with a short laugh.

Gabe moved to sit up, Loki sliding into his lap. He stretched his legs and grabbed the dog and blanket, standing up. “Your turn, get on your back bitch” Gabe mumbled sleepily.

Sam smiled and rolled his eyes, clearing his throat softly before laying down again and opening his arms in invitation. Gabe happily set Loki down next to Sam’s shoulder and climbed onto Sam’s chest, snuggling up into Sam’s neck before wrapping them up in the blanket, keeping Loki close.

Sam sighed contentedly as he settled in to finish the movie with him. “Been a relaxing Christmas.”

Gabe hummed sleepily as he pressed his lips to Sam’s neck. “Very” He mumbled.

Sam nodded softly, head leaning back against the arm of the couch. Gabe curled up a little, sliding in between Sam’s body and the couch to cuddle into him, gripping his shirt sleepily. Sam shifted in his spot, turning a little on his side to face Gabe. Gabe smiled a little, looking up at Sam to kiss him before being interrupted by Loki climbing over Sam’s shoulder with a whine. Gabe pulled away to help him to lay between them, scratching at his neck as he laid happily, keeping Sam away from his human.

“Your dog is jealous,” Sam snorted, then turned his head to cough again. “Wonder how he’ll feel when he realizes he’s stuck with me for a few months.”

Gabe laughed, kissing Loki’s head. “He’ll figure it out eventually” Gabe decided with, stroking his fur before moving him down by his feet. “Sorry bud, it’s Sam’s playtime now” Gabe grinned, leaning back down to kiss Sam again. 

Loki must’ve understood because he sat staring for a while before whining and laying his head down.

Sam laughed a little, snaking his arm around to bury his hand into Gabe’s hair, pulling him in closer.

Gabe smiled widely as he wrapped his arms around Sam’s neck happily. “Wait- hey,” Gabe laughed when Sam pressed kissed into his neck. He gently pulled Sam back up to smile at him. “I just want to know.. when’s our wedding date?” He asked softly.

Sam blinked, staring off into space as he hummed I thought. “Well.. I kinda like summer, I think. What about you?”

“June sixteenth” Gabe immediately pressed, staring blankly at Sam. “We have to” He whispered, rubbing over Sam’s hair.

“We can do that,” Sam agreed. “Why that specific day?”

Gabe moves his hand to tuck Sam’s hair behind his ear. “Just..” He paused and smiled widely. “It was the first day I met you. At the concert..” He whispered, staring anywhere but Sam’s face. “It was just.. a day that brought us together.. and so will our wedding day” He smiled softly.

Sam’s eyes flitted over Gabe’s face, a soft smile growing on his own. “It’s perfect. Let’s do it.”

Gabe smiled widely, glancing up Sam with a wide smile “Perfect..” He whispered softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to Sam’s nose. “..I do have to leave before January third though” He smiled softly. “So we can get drunk all night on New Year’s, and have awesome drunken sex” He snorted. “And then, we’ll have two days” He mumbled, his smile turning into a frown.

Sam brushed his thumb along Gabe’s jaw. “And we’ll make the most of it. You’ll be back before we know it,” he said with a hopeful smile.


	24. Chapter 24

Gabe came tumbling from his car as he pulled into the driveway, completely forgetting to text Sam where he even was. He smiled at the warm March sun before nearly bursting inside the house, finding Sam and Loki on the couch while Charlie and Kevin, along with two other faces sat that he didn’t recognize. 

All eyes were on him when he shifted to look at Sam as he stood, immediately running into his arms. He breathed in deeply, hugging at his shirt tightly.

Sam took in a deep breath as he hugged him against his chest, letting out a sigh that ruffled his hair a little. "God I missed you- why didn't you text me? I could've gotten dinner ready," he laughed without letting go.

Gabe shook his head and sighed contently, hesitating as he only leaned back. “I was excited!” He laughed, pausing when he heard Loki barking and running down the stairs to Gabe, barking frantically. “Baby!” He grinned, holding Sam’s hands before sliding them away to pick Loki up. “Aw, you haven’t grown a bit!” He laughed loudly, hugging his dog. “I missed you” He grinned, scratching his dog’s head before lowering him to the ground so he could smile at Sam. “I missed you too” He mumbled, leaning up to kiss Sam as well. 

Charlie cheered, clapping her hands happily at them.

"Welcome back Gabe," Kevin greeted with a half-smile. "Sorry for intruding on your house, nobody knew you were coming."

"But it's alright," Sam laughed, wrapping an arm around him. "Oh! I forgot, you guys weren't introduced," he continued in realization, gesturing to the other two in the room with them.

“Brady” A boy smiled from the couch, waving a little. 

“Gilda” The other girl smiled, leaning on Charlie’s shoulder with a smile. 

“Hi..” Gabe waved, pressing into Sam more. “I’m Gabe, but you guys knew..” He mumbled softly. 

“Wait you’re in that band!” Brady burst out. “Sam, you didn’t tell us your fiancé was the same Gabe!”

Gabe smiled and looked up at Sam before laughing.

“I didn’t?” Sam tilted his head in confusion before snorting and shrugging. “I guess I kind of assumed you knew, it’s not like it isn’t public news.”

“Brady's a little slow on the uptake, but we appreciate him anyway," Kevin said jokingly.

“He’s also a man ho” Charlie smiled softly. 

“Hey” Brady frowned at her before smiling at Gabe. “I’m not. I’ll treat you right” He winked and laughed. 

Gabe stared blankly before turning back to Sam with a smile. “I’m gonna go empty my tour clothes and hang up my keychains,” He said before walking past him to run up the stairs, having to come back a few seconds later to carry Loki with him.

"Right, and now we're done flirting with my fiancé," Sam said in a joking but still serious tone, catching Brady's eye before shaking his head.

"Charlie's right though," Kevin shrugged, nudging Brady's arm. "Now send me your notes asshole, we need to finish this stuff."

Brady frowned but went back to pay attention to his laptop instead, only looking up when Gabe came back to stare at him. 

“Hey,” Gabe said softly as he came back in skinny jeans and one of Sam’s hoodies, holding a box with wrapping paper. “This said my name on it but it was just on the dresser” He mumbled. “What is this?” He asked.

"Did you never open your last one?" Sam asked, tilting his head. "It's a Christmas present. I think we got distracted watching movies."

“Yeah-“ Gabe laughed, smiling a little. “Three months ago” He laughed, moving to set it on the coffee table before going into the kitchen. 

“Are you going to just ignore it now, too?” Brady laughed, watching Loki run and jump after Gabe. 

“No,” He yelled, coming back with scissors. “I want to open it so I don’t forget” He smirked, cutting the paper then cut the edges of the box, smiling when he looked inside to find the stuffed toy. “Sammy!” He yelled, pulling the stuffed platypus out happily. “Sam..” He laughed, feeling the soft fur. “Oh, I love it” He grinned, squeezing it tightly.

"What is it?" Kevin asked, perking his head up at the commotion.

"Stuffed platypus," Sam answered with a laugh, gesturing to Gabe and turning back to him. "I figured you would, you always talk about how they're your favorite because of how weird they are."

“They’re my favorite animal! Duh” Gabe grinned as he rubbed the soft fur, rubbing his cheek into it. 

“It’s cute” Brady smirked a little, not talking about the stuffed animal. 

“Isn’t it?!” Gabe asked with a smile.

"Mhm," Sam nodded, sending Brady a look before smiling at Gabe. "We're almost done here, do you want to sit with us?"

“Sure” Gabe smiled widely, taking the box and its trash outside to their trash can before coming back with a smile and open arms for Loki who had panicked when Gabe left. He hugged the dog against his chest and sat down next to Brady, happily playing with his dog. 

“How old is he now?” He asked with a smile. 

“Uh,” Gabe frowned and turned to Brady. “At least five or six months. Still a puppy” He smiled. “I’m sure Sam told you how I found the three of them”

“Yeah, it was pretty nice of you to take them in” Brady smiled, leaning back on the couch.

"He's sweet like that," Sam snorted, edging closer to Gabe. "We wanted to keep them here for a while just to make sure they were okay. My brother and his fiancé want one. Figured we'd ask Charlie, she likes dogs."

“And we agreed as soon as Gilda moves out we’ll take one” Charlie smiled widely. 

“Thanks, Charlie” Gabe grinned, petting his dog. 

“So why doesn’t this dog like Sam?” Brady asked. 

“Because he thought Sam hurt me while we were playing and he still thinks Sam will hurt me even though he’s a big teddy bear” Gabe smiled at Sam. 

“What were you doing?” Brady laughed. 

Gabe smiled, watching Loki who was staring at Brady, quite unamused. “He thought Sam but my neck a little harder than what he did” Gabe smiled widely, petting Loki’s ears. 

“Like this?” Brady asked softly, leaning closer to graze his teeth over Gabe’s neck. 

Gabe tensed up in shock, his eyes widened with fear as he was forced to let it happen, unable to move his hands.

“Knock it off,” Sam warned, pushing his shoulder back with a glare. “I’m serious Brandon.”

Brady only smirked and stuck his tongue out a little. “Please. You know I’m just fucking around, Sam”

Gabe frowned where he was sat, raising a hand to cover his neck when Brady had ‘jokingly’ tried to bite him. He glanced away anxiously, watching Loki growth and sniff at Brady. 

“I’m friendly” Brady smiled at the dog, watching it calm down but not enough to stop Loki from glaring.

Sam grunted in response. “I don’t find it funny. Please stop.”

Gabe moved himself a little closer to Sam, putting a hand on Sam’s knee. “It’s okay” He whispered, fingers anxiously scratching at Sam’s jeans. 

Brady frowned but nodded, turning back to pay attention to his laptop.

Sam’s leg twitched a little at the feeling, and he looked down at him with a sigh. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he pulled his own laptop forward. “He.. does this a lot.”

Gabe smiled and shrugged. “It’s okay.. So do you” He teased, leaning up to kiss Sam softly. “But I like it when you do it” He whispered. “Or when you get defensive” He giggled, covering his mouth as he tried not to snort too loud. “..It’s rather.. interesting from you” He whispered.

“Interesting?” Sam smirked a little as he leaned closer. “Well it most likely won’t change, so you’re in luck I s’pose.”

Gabe smiled softly under his hand as he jokingly leaned away from Sam. “Yeah, I feel really lucky..” He mumbled and took away his hand to lean over and kiss Sam.

“Flirt later, notes now,” Kevin mumbled without looking up from his computer. “I still need yours and Gilda’s.”

Gabe pouted and hugged at Sam’s chest. “Come on- I haven’t seen him in three months” Gabe whined. “I just wanna steak him for a few minutes” He complained. 

“Gabe, we love you, we do, but I love my degree more now let go of Sam so he can get his computer” Charlie smiled. 

Gabe pouted, hugging Sam’s neck. “No..”

“Gabe” Charlie scolded. 

“No..” Gabe whined, shifting over to sit in Sam’s lap. 

“Gabe-“ Charlie laughed. 

Gabe frowned, sitting himself right on Sam’s dick with an emphasized bounce.

Sam made a stifled grunting noise. “Ah- Alright, okay.” He shifted a little and attempted to reach for his computer again. “It won’t be that long, I just need to send an email.”

Gabe pouted, staying in position as Sam set the laptop on his knees. “I don’t care” Gabe complained, leaning back to look up at him. “I want your attention” He pouted, sticking his tongue out at him.

“And you can have it just as soon as we get finished up, promise,” Sam assured him, catching his eye before typing away at his computer.

Gabe grinned widely as he moved his head back to smile at his screen, feet fidgeting on the couch. He immediately drew them up and next to Sam’s legs when Brady touched them. Gabe glanced at him strangely. “They’re just so small” He laughed. 

“..Thanks?” Gabe asked softly, hushing Loki when he began to growl at Brady. “Loki” He whispered, trying to get the dog to stop. 

“He’s been doing that for months” Charlie smiled sadly. “Maybe he just doesn’t like other men” Charlie shrugged. 

“But he likes me” Kevin pointed out.

“Maybe it’s just random. I had a cat like that once,” Gilda nodded. “She would like some people, but just decide not to like others.”

“Maybe,” Sam mumbled.

Gabe shrugged. “I don’t think so. He likes people if they’re nice to me, but will definitely hate people if they hurt me. Which is why he doesn’t like Sam. Which reminds me, how was he while I was gone?” Gabe asked.

“I think he has separation anxiety,” Sam noted, typing more for a moment before sending the document to Kevin and looking up at him. “He wouldn’t eat for a while, I had to keep trying a bunch of different things and really all he wanted to do was lay around or freak out looking for you. Probably missed you, but that goes for both of us.”

Gabe frowned as he hugged Loki a little closer. “My poor babe” He whispered, kissing his face frantically. “You really think I would leave you alone with Sam?” He whispered, glancing back at his fiancé before snorting and watching Loki run over his shoulder to lick Sam’s face.

“Ah- Hey! Excuse you,” Sam laughed, leaning away and guarding his face and neck with his shoulder.

“Sam, he’s finally liking you! Take it and be happy” Gabe laughed as he tried pulling Loki back into his arms to hold him like a baby, scratching his stomach. 

“So he just doesn’t like Brady” Charlie pointed out, sending the group into fits of laughter. 

“Maybe” Gabe mumbled, setting the dog close to Brady to watch him. 

“Come here Loki” Brady smiled widely at the pup. “Come here boy,” He said excitedly. The dog stared at Brady with an unamused look before standing to walk back to Gabe’s lap. 

Gabe hummed and pulled his puppy in closer. “I guess he just doesn’t like you” Gabe smiled. 

“Aw..” Brady whined and lowered his shoulders.

“Maybe if you behave he will,” Gilda teased, nudging him before scooting closer to Charlie.

“But maybe now he won’t try and use my laptop as a bathroom.. again,” Sam laughed.

Gabe frowned and held Loki up to stare at him. “Did you pee on my boyfriend’s laptop” He glared before setting him down. “Hm..” He thought before leaning back against the arm of the couch to look at Sam. “I’ll pay you back for the damages” He mumbled softly.

“Nah, It was just the outside,” Sam shook his head with a smile. “I got it cleaned up fine. Just annoying.”

“I still feel bad” Gabe mumbled and smiled. “Expect a new laptop soon” He smirked a little. 

“Gabe, you’re such a sweet boyfriend” Charlie laughed softly. 

“Thanks, but I don’t see it” Gabe joked and glanced at Sam. “Maybe because I’m so short” He stuck his tongue out a little. 

Brady laughed and shook his head. “You’re at a cute level” Brady smiled at him. 

Gabe smiled and beamed at him.

Sam bent down to kiss the top of his head. “You are sweet, though, you’ve done a lot for me,” he smiled.

Gabe shrugged, messing with his ring happily. “I’m glad, but I do have to admit I need to take it off when play and preforming. I’m scared I’ll lose it, and it also gets caught on the strings. There’s a video of me somewhere where it broke the string to my guitar and I started sobbing at practice.” He frowned and pulled out his phone.

Sam winced a little. “Don’t you carry extra guitar strings with you?”

“Yeah but this was the first time I broke Stella” Gabe mumbled, scrolling their the band’s twitter, past all the pictures of them with fans and silly pictures until he found it. “Yeah,” He mumbled, playing it. 

“What’d we do?” Lucien asked as he filmed Gabe, crying on the practice floor in some building. 

Gabe looked up at him, pouting and crying as he held his guitar. “...I broke her” He mumbled softly, reaching up to rub his eyes. 

“And how’d you do that?” Lucien asked, crouching down with him. 

“I-“ Gabe stopped to laugh. “My engagement ring caught it and..” Gabe smiled a little, playing with the string. “It broke” He cried again. 

“Calm down, I’ve got more strings” Michael called in the distance before the video stopped. 

Gabe sighed and smiled, setting his phone down. “I was so mad afterward” He laughed.

Sam laughed a little, setting his head on his shoulder. “I’m more worried about your finger, didn’t that hurt?”

“No, it was the gem in the ring that cut it” He mumbled, messing with the ring before abruptly moving to stand up, holding Sam’s laptop as he got up to keep it steady. “I’m gonna go lay with Loki in the room, I’ve gotta call Cas and catch up with him anyway” He smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Sam’s lips before pulling away. “I love you”

“I love you,” Sam smiled back, sighing softly as he readjusted his sitting position.  
Gabe smiled and walked to the stairs, jogging up to them, holding Loki to his chest as he went. 

“You guys really are cute” Brady mumbled with a smile.

Sam smiled and shrugged. “Eh, He is anyway.”

“Should we leave soon?” Kevin asked, looking up and around at everyone.

“In a few minutes, I’m almost done” Charlie smiled. “Brady can you send me the uh.. chapter sixteen vocab?”

“Yeah sure,” He mumbled before standing up. “After I use the bathroom real quick” He smiled and sat his laptop down on the couch before walking to the stairs.

Sam glanced at him before turning back to his computer, shutting down the apps that were open before shutting the computer itself. “Alright, that’s enough of that,” he sighed, stretching a little.

“Had enough of school yet?” Charlie grinned at him. 

“I think so” Kevin snorted softly at Sam.

“Just a little,” Sam laughed. But hey, think of it this way. Once we graduate we’ll at least earn money from it all. And some justice, maybe.”

“Maybe?” Charlie laughed softly, leaning against the table, opening her mouth only to be cut off by a yelp and some crashing upstairs. Charlie closed her mouth and stared at Sam with wide eyes.

Sam jumped and stared at the stairs for a moment before jumping up and racing up the stairs.

Kevin carefully put his laptop down before walking to the edge of the table, glancing back at the girls anxiously.

“Come on-“ Brady frowned at Gabe, holding his forearm gently. 

“No-“ Gabe whined, anxiously shaking as he knocked down another thug from the dresser. 

“Please..” Brady whispered to Gabe, taking a hold of his hands. 

“Don’t touch me!” Gabe snapped, feeling hands grip his shoulders tightly. 

“Gabriel” Brady snapped, leaning in close. “Just say you’ll with me.. I can see it” He smirked. “You don’t really like Sam..”

“No..” Gabe whispered, starting to cry. “Get off of me- Get off!” He screamed, trying to overpower Brady by shoving him off, unable to due to his shaking.

Sam burst through the door, hooking his arms under Brady’s and yanking him forcefully backward. “What the fuck are you doing?” He demanded, shoving him to the side as he stood between the two of them.

Gabe gasped loudly, hugging Sam’s arm tightly, hands clawing at his shirt to hold onto him. 

“We’re just talking” Brady huffed after being shoved around. He fixed his hoodie and smiled. “You just got in the way..” He muttered.

“You think I’m fucking stupid Brandon?” Sam spat, nose wrinkled into a sneer.

Brady sighed as he softened his face to a bored look. “Look. You’re nice Sam.. A little too nice, so I think.. maybe Gabe isn’t for you” He shrugged a little. “I’ve heard about him and know his interests. All I’m saying is.. It’d be best for you two to break up-“

“No” Gabe quickly whispered, burying his face into Sam’s arm. “Not again- not..” Gabe gasped for breath softly as he panicked, Loki rushing to his legs to try and calm him down, scratching at his legs frantically.

“Absolutely not. Who the hell do you think you are, coming into my house thinking you can just take my fiancé from me?” Sam scoffed, glaring at him.

“Sam- Sam what’s going on?” Kevin asked as he hurried up toward the doorway with the girls in tow.

Brady glared, slamming the bedroom door, slowly locking the door afterward. “Do you even fucking remember what you did to me?” He muttered. “How you stole Jess- and LET her die” Brady snapped. 

Gabe anxiously rubbed Sam’s arm, fingers playing with the loose fabric, squeezing it roughly. 

“Because I remember! I remember having her stolen from you years ago! And then had to watch her be buried.. I had to watch the love of my life be put into the ground because you couldn’t do enough for her!”

Gabe reached out to stop Sam from raising his fist. “Sammy..” He whispered, rubbing over his hands with shaky fingers. “It’s not your fault” He assured him.

“Oh but it is..” Brady laughed. “And its only fair.. to give back what you stole!” Brady yelled, slowly coming up to put his hands on Gabe’s shoulders to lean closer to Sam. “Don’t you think?”

Sam gritted his teeth, fists clenched at his sides before one shot out to take a tight hold on Brady’s arm. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare talk about Jessica like that, and don’t you dare touch him. You know damn well that she chose me, I didn’t force her to do anything.”

Gabe looked up anxiously between the two, feeling his heartbeat begin to drown out his hearing. He shivered, listening to the two bicker and the door handle begin to shake rapidly. He closed his eyes to calm down, hands coming up to cover his ears. 

“She didn’t choose shit and you know it!” Brady screamed, tears soaking his face. “I’ll do whatever I want” He whispered, fingers squeezing Gabe’s shoulder tightly. 

Gabe snapped, turning to shove Brady away from both of them. “Don’t fucking touch me!” He screamed, shaking in place, feeling arms wrap around him. He didn’t know who’s they were but he was persistent in not being touched, shoving them all away as he moved to the side of the bed, hyperventilating, jumping when the door opened. 

Kevin moved his foot around from where he had broken the lock on the door, looking around at them all in confusion.

Sam jolted a little, head snapping towards the door momentarily before turning back to Brady. “Get the hell out of my house,” he ordered in a dangerously soft voice. “Don’t you ever talk to him or me ever again.”

Brady breathed out harshly before shoving past Kevin to go down the stairs. 

Kevin looked at Sam with a frowned before smiling gently. 

Gabe sighed softly when everything got quieter, feeling himself relax just a small bit as he sat on the floor, hiding. He swallowed, shakily lowering his hands from his ears to lay them on his knees, finding Loki scratching at his arm frantically. Gabe winced at the pain, pulling the poor puppy into his lap before noticing the bloody scratch marks he had left on him. “It’s okay..” He whispered, petting the dog’s head shakily. “..I’m okay” He sobbed quietly, rocking back and forth a little.

Sam stared blankly out the door after him, then slowly sunk to the floor with his head in his hands. He drew his knees up close against his chest, refusing to look up at any of them.

Charlie shared a look with her girlfriend before looking between the two. She gasped, rushing over to Gabe. “Why are you bleeding?!” She asked anxiously, crouching next to him so she could comfort him. 

Kevin smiled and lowered himself next to Sam, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Sam..?” He asked softly, rubbing over his arm steadily.

“He’s bleeding?” Gilda repeated, craning her neck to try and see as she hovered over Charlie.

Sam didn’t move, other than running his hands over his head repeatedly. “S’my fault..” he mumbled against his knees.

“What?” Kevin mumbled, rubbing his shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s no one’s fault” He whispered. 

Gabe sighed softly and looked down at the blood before shaking his head. “It’s okay.. Loki was worried” He smiled, Charlie helping him to stand as he came over to Sam’s side, falling to his knees. “Sam, It’s okay” He smiled. “I’m okay” He whispered.

Sam mumbled something indecipherable, his muffled voice sounding shaky as he shook his head slightly.

Gabe frowned, lightly touching his shoulder. “It’s okay. It was Loki” He smiled widely, rubbing his head before leaning over to hug him. “It’s not your fault” He whispered.

“No- no I- Jess-“ Sam sputtered, leaning into his chest without lowering his legs or arms.

Gabe tensed up, letting him lean into him. He frowned deeply, petting through his hair. “..It’s fine” He whispered softly, lifting himself slowly from the ground. He stood, staring at the wall before slowly turning to walk through the door, rubbing the blood on his arm as he went, practically running down the stairs. 

Kevin frowned and stood up, glancing at Charlie and Gilda. 

“I’ve got him” Charlie whispered, lowering herself to hesitantly hug him as Kevin ran after Gabe.

“I’ll go down with them,” Gilda offered, hurrying after Kevin and Gabe.

Sam whimpered softly, clenching his fists in his hair.

“Gabe wait- you’re not understanding, Gabe!” Kevin tried to stop him, having to let him run out the door with Loki in his arms. He sighed heavily, smacking his hands on his legs as he heard a car starting. He sighed and turned to Gilda, opening his mouth before frowning. 

He held up Gabe’s engagement ring and stared at her. “..We have a problem” He whispered.

Gilda put her hands over her mouth, looking up at him with wide eyes. “What do we do? We don’t know where he’s going and Sam’s not in a good enough state to drive after him.”

“I don’t know..” Kevin whispered. “Hold on to the ring so he won’t freak out..?” He shrugged. “I don’t know what to do. Gabe was just rambling about being stupid and how Sam was still in love with Jess and.. I don’t know” Kevin rubbed his face, pushing the ring into his pocket.

“That’s ridiculous, it was pretty obvious to us how much they love each other,” Gilda shook her head, arms wrapped around herself. “Brady just got under his skin is all. He’s got to see that, right?”

Kevin shrugged. “..Brady ruins lives” He whispered before pushing his hair back. “What the fuck do we do..?”

“I don’t know.. steal Sam’s phone and call somebody?” Gilda shrugged, gesturing to the phone still sitting with his laptop.

“Who would we call? I don’t think Gabe would even pick up” He whispered.

“I don’t know, what about Sam’s brother? He might help,” Gilda suggested with a frown as she went to pick it up, opening up his contacts.

Kevin frowned and scrolled through them, looking at them. “I.. I don’t know Gabe’s brothers!” He pointed out. “I wanna say Sam once said one's name was Lucien..?” He asked.

“I said Sam’s you doof,” Gilda said again, but nodded. “But yes, that’s one of them. We could call both? Sam’s can come here and Gabe’s can try and find him.”

“Okay- okay..” He whispered and sighed. “Call Sam’s brother, and then call.. Michael! I remember for a fact Michael is for sure his brother” He mumbled.

“Then do it!” Gilda huffed. “I'll wait upstairs with Charlie and Sam.”

Kevin made a noise and took the phone to find Michael’s contact, hesitating before holding it up to his ear after he dialed it.

The phone continued ringing for a while before someone picked up. “Sam? What’s going on?”

“Um.. H-Hello? ..Michael? Um.. Brady was flirting with Gabe and he brought up stuff about Jess- and- and Gabe was saying he was stupid for going to marry Sam and then um he gave me his wedding ring and I.. I don’t know where Gabe is and Sam is- Uh, crying upstairs I don’t- Gabe just ran- I..” Kevin stuttered.

“Whoa, whoa- hold on, slow down. First of all, who is this? Secondly, what do you mean Gabe ran? Where is he?” Michael demanded in a concerned tone.

“Um- I’m Sam’s friend from college, Kevin” He mumbled and swallowed. “I.. don’t know. He took his dog and ran to his car and drove off.. I tried to stop him but next thing I knew he was showing a ring at me and telling me that if he’d know Sam was still in love with Jess he never would’ve dated him..” He whispered softly.

“I-“ Michael paused a moment to try and process. “Okay, okay, uh, I’ll get the rest of my brothers to help me find Gabe. What’s Sam doing? Why didn’t he go after him?”

“Brady was saying stuff about how it’s Sam’s fault Jess died so he’s.. he’s having a breakdown.. and.. and Gabe got upset because he thinks Sam loves Jess more than him..?”

Michael was quiet as he thought, then sighed softly. “Alright, well. You have Sam’s phone. Call Dean, get him to come over, see if he can snap him out of it or something, we’ll handle Gabe.”

“Okay I.. I’m sorry” He whispered softly. “I’ll uh.. call Dean now” He mumbled, hanging up to call down, relaying the message, being told Dean was on his way. He sighed softly and came up the stairs, watching Charlie hugging Sam’s shoulder. 

“Hey, it’s okay..” She whispered. “What happened to Jess could’ve happened to anyone.. It’s not your fault” Charlie tried again.

“I could’ve- I- I could’ve gotten to her-“ Sam rambled, his voice becoming incoherent as he pressed his face further against his arms.

Gilda glanced back at Kevin worriedly. “Well?”

Kevin smiled a little. “Dean’s on his way.. And Gabe’s brothers are looking for him” He sighed, setting Sam’s phone on the counter.

“Good,” she sighed, then gestured to Charlie and Sam. “We’re not getting anywhere with him so.. I hope he gets here soon.”

“Sam..” Charlie whispered, rubbing his cheek. “Sam you gotta talk to me. Do you know where Gabe would go if he’s upset?” She whispered.

Sam quieted somewhat for a moment, still whimpering as he failed to hold back tears. “I- I don’t- he’s never- I don’t know.”

Charlie sighed and rubbed her face with a frown. “Sam, deep breaths..” She whispered with a smile. “Just relax...” She frowned and looked at Kevin and Gilda. “We need to find Gabe and make sure he’s not in danger”

“He could be anywhere..” Kevin whispered, glancing at Sam’s phone as someone named Lucien called. “Hello?”

“Samuel what the fuck did you do?!” He screamed, causing Kevin to jerk the phone from his ear. “Where is my baby brother and why doesn’t he want to marry you or some shit?”

“I-“ Kevin frowned and looked down at Sam.

“Where is my baby brother?!” He snapped again.

Sam merely curled in tighter on himself, never lifting his head. Gilda frowned and huffed, taking the phone from Kevin’s hands. “Hello? Who is this and why are you yelling at Sam?”

“It’s Gabe’s older brother.. who the fuck are you?” He asked in a softer tone in realization that it was a female. “Is Sam cheating or something? Because if so expect at that apartment in ten fucking minutes” He muttered.

“No!” Gilda scoffed. “I’m dating a woman. You should know Sam would never cheat.” She sighed and cleared her throat softly. “A lot’s gone down, we can explain more if you want, but the point is both of them are upset.”

“Sam?” Dean asked as he climbed the stairs, Cas close behind him. He frowned and moved to sit with him. “Sam, Sam what’s wrong? Where’s Gabe?” He asked.

“Le- left,” Sam mumbled.

“He thinks Sam still wants to be with Jess instead of him,” Gilda explained vaguely, then went back to the phone. “Do you know where Gabe would’ve gone.”

Dean frowned and shook his head, looking up at Cas. “Cas?” He asked softly, bringing his brother into his chest.

“If he didn’t go home, and he didn’t come to us, he’d go somewhere secluded,” Cas mumbled, shaking his head. “Who’s on the phone?”

“Lucien” Charlie whispered. 

Dean pulled Sam back and gripped his shoulders. “Sam- Sam listen to me. Do know what you’re doing?” He whispered. “I know you’ve lost Jess.. But you haven’t lost Gabe yet. Do you really want to lose him as well?” He asked.

Sam finally looked up at him and held onto the sleeves of his coat, eyes wide and scared as he shook his head. “No.. n-no. I can’t.”

Dean sighed and rubbed over his brother’s tears before hugging him loosely. “Sam, you need to listen to me. What’s happened has already happened. You can’t change what’s happened with you and Jess. But what you can change is right now. I know you miss Jess.. But if you don’t realize other things around you, then you’ll lose Gabe just like you lost Jess. But Gabe won’t be gone forever. He’ll be out there somewhere.. with his brothers or with someone else. Do you want to see Gabe with someone else?” He asked with a frown.

Sam shook his head again, this time more insistently. “No.” He heaved in a couple of breaths. “No. But what if- what if something like that happened to him?”

“What happened?” Dean asked softly.

“Like- like with Jess, I.. I miss her, o-of course I do, I just.. I can’t stop thinking it’s my- it’s my fault,” Sam stammered. “That I could’ve done something to help her and.. I don’t want anything to happen to- happen to Gabe.” He pulled away from Dean to huddle against the side of his bed. “He probably hates me now.”

“Sam. What’d I say?” He smiled widely, trying to pull him in a little closer. “I know you don’t, but nothing is going to happen to Gabe. Now you need to stop moping. Gabe won’t hate you as long as you try and get him back. You need to realize that, Sammy” He whispered. “You still have a chance, but the longer you mope shows Gabe that you love Jess more. And do you? I know you love him, but do you love Jess more?” He whispered.

Sam glanced back at him, then shook his head. “No.. I don’t. I did once, but that- that was years ago. Gabe is with me now.. and I love him. He can’t be replaced.”

“I know bub” Dean laughed a little and smiled at him. “But you’re not showing him that right now..” He whispered. “Now do you want to sit and show Gabe you miss Jess more, or go out and try and find Gabe so you can have a chance at getting him back?”

Sam nodded, leaning away again to look at him. “I just.. We don’t know where he is. Where do we even start looking?”

“We’ll find him” Dean decided on, rubbing his shoulder. “Let’s go to Michael’s.. and split up” He decided on.


	25. Chapter 25

“Alright,” Michael huffed, arms crossed as he paced the floor. “Obviously he doesn’t want to be found. So.. we check places that he wouldn’t usually be in. Or somewhere empty. Any suggestions?”

“Any hotel?” Dean asked softly. “Just to get away.. maybe to a friend” He frowned. 

“He could be literally anywhere” Charlie whispered.

“Plus, it’s getting dark,” Balthazar pointed out with a frown. “So if we’re going to look, we’d better start soon.”

“We can split up,” Sam suggested, shifting his weight anxiously. “Or go in groups of two at least, cover more ground.”

“Maybe..” Lucien sighed. “I don’t know. When Dad died he didn’t wanna leave our side. But in a situation like this..” He whispered, shrugging a little. “We just can’t-“ He paused as the door opened, staring at Gabe. 

Gabe looked up from where he was setting Loki down and spotted Sam. He stopped in his tracks, taking one step back before bolting back down the hall. 

“Gabe!” Lucien yelled, running around the couch to run down the hall after him.

Sam panicked and took off after both of them, calling out for him to stop.

Lucien caught up to him, forcefully holding onto him as he almost fell to the ground, pull Gabe in to hug him. “Gabe stop- Gabe, Gabe listen” Lucien rambled. 

“No!” Gabe screamed. “I hate him! I hate him- I hate him!!”

“Gabriel!” Sam cried out, breathing heavily as he caught up with them. “Please, just listen, please.”

“No!” Gabe screamed inhumanly, sobbing loudly as he thrashed in Lucien’s arms, being lowered to the ground. 

“Gabe, please-“ Lucien whispered, hushing him a little to get him to stop. “Gabe it’s okay, he didn’t mean it. It was a misunderstanding, just listen to him” He whispered, holding Gabe close to his chest. 

“I hate him..” Gabe sobbed into Lucien’s shirt, holding onto his brother tightly. “I.. I’m so stupid” He whispered breathlessly, sobbing.

“You’re not stupid, please just let me explain,” Sam pleaded, lowering himself to the ground with them. “It’s not- it’s not what you think, I would never choose her over you.”

“Just go away” Gabe sobbed, the dried blood on his arm smearing across Lucien’s shirt. 

“Gabe.. please” Lucien whispered. 

“Then why did you?” Gabe asked, looking up over Lucien’s shoulder at him. “When your fucking friend hurt me- and all you could care about was Jessica? I’m sorry I’m not fucking her okay?!” He snapped, refusing to let go of his brother. “If I’d known you were still in love with some dead girl then I never would’ve even considered dating you!” He screamed, being shushed by Lucien moments later. 

“Gabe,” Lucien whispered, holding his close as he rubbed his head. “It’s okay..”

“I’m not still in love with her. Yeah, of course I miss her, but I wouldn’t want to lose you over her,” Sam insisted with wide eyes, then shook his head. “Brady- Brady knows how to get to people. And he knows I still feel guilty about how she died. Because.. I couldn’t get her out- and I blamed myself for that. But don’t think for one second that I’d choose someone from the past over you.”

Gabe glared at Sam before lowering his head to press his face into Lucien’s chest, quickly realizing Loki was between them. Gabe stared at the dog and brought him close to hug him before looking up at Lucien. “I want to sleep” He whispered softly. 

Lucien frowned but nodded, moving to grab Gabe’s legs to pick him up. He watched his brother hold the dog closely as he carried him.

“Let’s go” He whispered softly, glancing at Sam, nodding for Sam to follow.

Sam nodded with a soft sigh through his nice, standing with them to follow back to the apartment.

Dean turned to smile in relief, watching Gabe be put on the couch and Sam follow. “You doing okay?” He whispered to Sam, rubbing his shoulder with a small smile.

“.. Define ‘okay’,” Sam responded with a weak smile. “He’s.. really upset.”

“More like angry” Gabe muttered. 

Kevin frowned and looked at Sam before awkwardly offering the ring to him. “It’s not a good time, but.. yeah” He whispered.

Sam grimaced as he took the ring, turning it over in his fingers before setting it inside his pocket. “Thanks..”

Gabe glared at them before moving to stare at the wall. “Don’t bother even giving it back” Gabe muttered. 

Lucien frowned, putting a hand on his head. “Gabe.. you heard Sam-“

“And he heard me!” Gabe snapped, turning away. “..I’ve given him too many chances. I’m done getting hurt” He whispered, leaning into the couch to bury his face.

Sam shrunk back a little, nodding softly. “I.. understand,” he murmured.

“So that’s it..?” Lucien asked softly. “The man you’ve been in love with forever- this is what’s going to break you..? A misunderstanding? Gabe..” He whispered. 

Gabe pouted a little and looked away. “..I’m tired of ya fighting” He whispered softly. 

“Then make up.. you know Sam doesn’t love anyone more than you” He smiled. 

“..I know” Gabe sniffled a little, his anger going away.

“Besides, you guys always seem so happy together.. Sam’s so mopey when you aren’t home,” Gilda pointed out, tilting her head as she kept close to Charlie.

Gabe frowned at this, glancing at Sam slightly. Gabe sighed through his nose before looking down to see Michael cleaning the blood with a warm rag. “..I don’t know” Gabe whispered. 

“Do you know how many times he’s wanted to call you and had to think about where you were and how he couldn’t?” Charlie whispered. “At least twice a day.. for three months.”

“Do you know how many times he has called me to get Cas to call them to see where they were?” Dean asked. 

“Do you know when the last time Sam even mentioned Jess was? ..A week after she passed. He refused to talk about her”

“..So when he told me was the last time” Gabe whispered, almost considering it as Michael wrapped his arm up.

Sam nodded slowly, licking his lips and shifting his weight. “It’s hard to talk about still, but.. I trust you.”

“And we can all tell,” Kevin cut in. “Plus, he rarely shut up about you for the three months you were gone. Kind of annoying honestly,” he said half-jokingly in an attempt to ease the tension.

Gabe laughed a little and frowned as he stood up, coming up to Sam. He sighed softly, moving to gently hug him. “I’m sorry” He whispered softly. “I really misread the situation and let my emotions get the better of me” He admitted, fingers tangling in the back of Sam’s shirt.

“It’s okay,” Sam assured him, drawing small circles on his back. “Obviously, so did I.”

“..So.. does this mean you guys are still gonna get married?” Charlie asked with a smile. 

Gabe pulled away and glanced at Sam anxiously. He hesitated for a second before sighing and raising his left hands for Sam. 

Lucien cheered a little with his brothers as Charlie and Gilda squealed.

Sam let out a relieved laugh, pulling the ring out of his pocket and gently sliding it back on his finger. “Marry me?”

Gabe hummed and examined it before smiling. “I guess.. but only because you asked so nicely” He laughed, leaning up to kiss Sam before hugging him again. Sam sighed softly against his shoulder, smiling before pulling away slightly.

Gilda clapped her hands with a smile, then took hold of Charlie’s hand with a small gasp. “You should let Loki be the flower dog.”

“Absolutely!” Gabe grinned widely, looking back up at Sam. “Sammy please?!” He begged, pouting. “I’ll forgive you for everything!”

Sam snorted and nodding with a grin. “Of course we can. We’ll get him a little bow tie and everything.”

“I would love that” Gabe laughed softly, turning to his brothers. “But I can only choose one brother to walk me down..” He frowned deeply. 

“We’ll all do it” Lucien immediately answered. “All of us,” He said seriously.

“Lu- we can’t all- what about groomsmen?” Michael asked, raising his eyebrows.

“But then who walks him down?!” Lucien asked loudly. 

Gabe smiled at his siblings' bickering and leaned back to whisper to Sam. “I could care less as long as it happens” He whispered, kissing Sam softly.

Sam smiled against his lips, brushing his fingers through Gabe’s hair as he pulled away. “We’ve got time.”

Gabe smiled widely. “One more tour” He whispered softly and smiled. “Then I’ll be back in August” He promised. 

And promised he did, barely containing his excitement as he yet again pulled into the apartment parking and ran up to the door, bursting in. 

Charlie shot her head up and smiled. “Oh my god, he literally was just talking about you!” She snorted. “He went upstairs to try and find Loki since Loki’s been more distant”

Gabe frowned as he watched Loki come tumbling down the stairs, running to Gabe happily. “Baby!” He grinned, bending to pick him up. “Aw, you’re so tiny still!” He laughed, setting him back down when he heard Sam calling after the dog.

Sam walked over to the top of the stairs, pausing when he heard Gabe’s voice before he broke out into a wide smile. “Gabe! Hey!” He stumbled a little as he ran down the stairs, falling into his arms. “Welcome home!”

Gabe grinned widely as he hugged him, squeezing him tightly. “I missed you!” He laughed softly, burying his face into Sam’s chest. “I was hoping you would be asleep since it’s like six but.. of course not” He complained.

“No, we were getting some studying in before classes” Charlie explained. “Which means we’re gonna have to go soon” 

“Fuck you have classes!” Gabe frowned and looked at Sam. “No.. you can’t go- I just got back” He whispered.

Sam huffed a little, then thought for a moment. “You could.. come to visit before it starts, and then when it gets out. We have to focus in between those times but otherwise it should be okay,” he suggested with a smile.

Gabe made a face and hummed a little. “It should be fine” He sighed softly and bent down to pick up Loki. “Besides, Loki here missed me too. It’d be unfair for him” Gabe decided was best. 

“Well then that’s that and we need to go” Charlie frowned. “Classes start in like twenty minutes” Charlie mumbled. “And I want those extra few minutes on the test”

Gabe smiled sadly as she went out the door then looked at Sam. “..I’ll see you in a few hours” He whispered softly.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Sam promised, smiling as he kissed him quickly before pulling away and grabbing his bag.

Gabe pouted a little as he watched him go. “Alright,” He smiled and waved in defeat as Sam went. He sat on the couch for the next hour, watching a shitty cartoon to pass the time before he got up to stretch. That’s when he noticed Sam’s computer bag. He blinked and frowned, pulling it closer, only realizing he had papers in the bag as well. He reached for his phone to call him, holding it between his shoulder and ear as he got the bag and set Loki on the couch.

Sam jumped as he felt his phone buzz silently in his pocket, pulling it out to talk quietly into it while people were busy chatting and working. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Um.. Well, I found your laptop along with some papers..” He mumbled softly. “I uh.. didn’t know if you needed it or them or not.. to be fair I just wanted to call you and talk, but I did find a reason” He laughed softly.

“It’s good to get to talk to you earlier than we thought,” Sam laughed quietly. “What papers?.. Oh. Shit. Yeah, I do need those.”

Gabe smiled a little, already standing up. “What’s it worth to you, my love?” He teased, putting the bag over his shoulder, gesturing for Loki to stay as he went to the door, out to his car.

"Your safety, I heard that car door," Sam replied with a half-laugh. "Are you heading over here?"

He laughed as he sat down and sighed softly. “Yeah, I figured I might as well considering you ditched me for school” He complained, closing the door to start the car. “I have no idea where you’re going to be” He admitted, putting Sam on speaking to set the phone in his lap while he drove.

"Um.. I'll meet you outside, you'll see me," Sam assured him. "Seriously, drive safely."

“That’s boring! Let me come into your classes. I’ll find you” He grinned and held the phone up. 

“Sam, who ya talking to?” Charlie asked with a smile, taking his phone. “Well hi Gabe!” She grinned. “Me and a friend were just talking about you!”

“What?”

“Is it Amelia again?” Kevin asked softly. 

“She doesn’t believe me!” Charlie protested. 

“That’s because it’s not him!” She called out. “There’s no way Sam is marrying a famous singer” She shook her head. 

“Oh really?” Gabe laughed softly. “Hm.. I think there are a few things that are possible” Gabe laughed again.

Sam laughed a little. "Guess we'll just see once you get here, hm?" he said teasingly.

"He's coming here?" Gilda asked excitedly, leaning over the table.

“Sure am” Gabe smiled widely from his car, putting the phone down. “You should uh.. not judge my Sam or else you’ll get proven wrong my friend” He mumbled softly. 

Charlie laughed and smiled at Sam. “Do you wanna talk to Sam?”

“I mean, I’m almost there, what room are you guys in?” Gabe asked as he looked around for parking, eventually finding Charlie’s car to park with.

"We're in a big building, it should be pretty close to the parking lot," Sam said with a nod to himself as he thought.

“Oh well I found Charlie’s car and I can see you in a window so I’ll be up soon” He smiled to himself. 

Charlie smiled and gave the phone back to him as Gabe hung up. “He said he’d be here soon, in the meantime, let’s talk wedding colors. I’m thinking gold”

"I like that," Gilda nodded alongside her. "A gold and white theme, maybe some blues for contrast? Or reds and oranges, to complement it. Or- or purple, that contrasts too!"

Sam laughed and shook his head. "You two are planning out my whole wedding, aren't you?"

“No, I think blue.. actually orange. Gabe’s eyes are really orange like- Sam, how?” She laughed. “Are you marrying some mutant?”

“I’d hope not” Gabe laughed as he walked over to the table. “I’m already a freak enough as it is”

“Gabe!” Charlie grinned widely.

"Hey!" Sam grinned, standing up to hug him quickly before backing off a little. "Thanks for bringing my stuff, I love you and I owe you."

"Gabe Novak?" a girl sitting close by perked up, eyes widened in surprise. "Oh wow! Honestly, we all thought Sam was trying to pull one over us," she laughed.

Gabe laughed softly, taking it off his shoulders to offer to him. Gabe glanced at the girl and made a face before shrugging and turning back to Sam. “Am I supposed to.. talk with her..?” He asked softly in confusion before another came up. 

She squinted at Gabe and frowned at Sam. “Prove it’s him”

“What the fuck?” Gabe whispered before turning to her. “I.. have six brothers? Would you like me to name them all and say their professions?” He asked softly. 

“Who is the song ‘Painting Flowers’ for?” She asked. 

Gabe glared, a little offended. “For my baby brother who passed a few years ago.. I wrote it to try and get better” He mumbled. 

“Are you really him?” Amelia asked, looking at Sam. 

“Yes!” Charlie answered for him.

"Alright, enough, this isn't an interrogation Amelia," Sam snorted, shaking his head, then took Gabe's hand after he'd set his bag down. "It's him, nobody's fucking with you. Who else could have such amazing eyes?"

“I like my eyes” Gabe whispered softly before smiling. “They look like orange slices” He laughed softly, squeezing Sam’s hand. 

“You really are Gabriel!” She smiled widely, getting a few people’s attention. “Can I get a picture?!”

Gabe paused to glance at Sam. “Is she nice to you, baby?” Gabe asked bluntly in front of her.

"Well.. yeah?" Sam nodded, head tilted. "She's friendly."

“She ever bullied you?” He asked, turning to Sam’s friends. “She ever bully any of you?” He asked.

"No, you can trust her," Kevin said, shaking his head.

Gabe smiled a little and nodded to her, immediately taking a few minutes with her until someone else wanted something. He politely said no and came back to Sam happily. “Hey, I think I’m gonna have to go unless people want pictures every twenty seconds” He whispered with a frown.

Sam nodded in understanding, bringing him into a quick hug before kissing the top of his head. “I’ll see you at home, Alright?”

“Yeah, I guess” He mumbled with a frown. “..Text me lots?” He asked, pouting a little.

“Much as I can,” Sam nodded with a small smile.

“Alright now give me a proper kiss and I can go” He pouted more.

Sam snorted, lifting his chin to kiss him before pulling away again. “I’ll see you soon.”

Gabe smiled widely, kissing him quickly again. “I’ll see you after school” He mumbled.

Sam smiled and nodded, then sat back down with his things as Gabe left.

Gabe pouted the whole ride home, and the whole time he was home. He took out his phone to shoot off a quick text, telling Sam he made it home safely. He put his phone down and laid on the couch with Loki by his side before rolling onto his side to sleep.

Sam arrived home a couple of hours later, sighing softly as he let his bags fall to the floor. He looked around at the living room and smiled when he spotted Gabe, going to get a blanket to lay over him.

As soon as Gabe was covered, he slowly woke up to Loki’s angry yipping and barking at Sam. Gabe stretched a little, reaching over to drag Loki into his arms to make him be quiet. He opened his eyes slowly to look up at Sam with a tired smile.

“Hey, Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up,” Sam said with an apologetic smile.

“It’s alright” Gabe mumbled softly, scratching at Loki’s stomach when he began growling again.

“Excuse you, you’ve been at my side for the past few months now,” Sam scoffed at Loki’s growing.

“I don’t think he cares” Gabe joked, reaching up to take Sam’s hand sleepily. “How was he while I was gone?” Gabe smiled with closed eyes.

“Pretty good, actually. You kinda missed the other two’s sendoff when they went to their new places,” Sam said with a slight nod. “We could visit them, though.”

Gabe smiled widely. “Who got the other two again? Didn’t Charlie take one?” He asked softly, squinting up at him.

“Yeah, Charlie came by to pick up hers, then Dean,” Sam nodded.

Gabe smiled a little and reached down for Loki, lifting him in the air. “Do you wanna see your siblings?” He asked softly, watching the dog only squirm and try to get down. “Alright,” He mumbled, setting him on his chest.

“We can if you want,” Sam shrugged. “Surprise visits.”

“Will the little thing” He grumbled, watching Loki crawl off his chest to jump onto the bed. He smiled and shifted to sit up. “Hey-“ He began before watching Loki drag him the leash. “..Did you train him to do that?” Gabe laughed.

“Not really, He usually does that when I mention walks,” Sam laughed.

He laughed and smiled at Loki. “Alright, but it’s getting colder out” He mumbled and smiled at Sam. “I’m gonna go get Loki’s shirts” He mumbled, moving to head toward the stairs.

“His shirts?” Sam snorted. “Does he let you put them on him?”

“He loves them!” Gabe yelled as he went up, coming back with an excessively small sweater that he got to put on Loki. He held up the dog when he was done, showing the cute winter sweater. “Isn’t he cute?” He laughed, kissing his dog.

Sam smiled and nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “Is he ready to go then?”

“Yes,” Gabe grinned, hooking him on the leash and carrying him outside to his car to buckle in with Loki in his lap.

Sam got into the driver’s side and pulled out into the road. “So was the rest of tour alright?”

Gabe shrugged. “Yeah it was pretty good” He smiled. “I really missed you though” He laughed softly, moving forward so Loki could sit in his lap, clawing at the wheel to hold on to. “Maybe a little too much” He admitted, rubbing his fingers on the wheel.

“Nah, if you listen to Charlie and Kevin you’ll hear them complain about me talking about you while you’re gone,” Sam snorted, glancing away and shrugging lightly.

“That good?” He joked with a small smile. “I’m more.. amazed that it’s almost September” He smirked a little and looked at Sam. “Do you think you’re ready to get married?” He asked.

Sam looked over at him and smiled. “I think I could spend the rest of my life with you.”

Gabe smiled silently for a moment before he blushed profusely, glancing away. “You’re making me all blushy!” He complained and laughed.

Sam snorted, leaning over to rest his cheek against his fist. “I’m serious, though.”

Gabe glanced at him and looked back to the road, ignoring Loki when he stood up with his paws on the horn, not heavy enough to press it. “What do you see?” He asked softly, looking down at him briefly. “A stepdad possibly in your future?” He teased, smiling at Sam. “..I feel just.. awful from before. I’m sorry our relationship is a mess” He whispered.

Sam looked at him and shook his head. “Don’t. We’ve both made dumb decisions. I’m just as much to blame.”

“But we’re okay now” He whispered happily and pulled up to Charlie’s place. “..I love you” He insisted, leaning closer to press his lips to Sam’s.

Sam leaned in even closer, then pulled away with a soft smile. “I love you too.”

Gabe grinned widely at him, going to kiss him again before Loki jumped in between them, barking and growling. Gabe smiled and turned his attention back to the dog, picking him up. “You’re gonna see your sister. Are you excited?” He grinned, holding him against his chest to carry him up to Charlie’s door.

Sam smiled, knocking lightly on the door and standing back as they waited. There was excited barking from behind the door that made Loki’s ears perk up as he stared at the door. “Luna, calm down,” Charlie said behind the door, picking her up to open the door. “Hey- oh,” She smiled at Loki. “Is that why you’re so excited?” She laughed and stepped back for them to come inside. 

“Probably” Gabe smiled widely, leading Sam inside, setting Loki down to take off his leash.

“How’s she been for you?” Sam asked, leaning down to pet her before straightening up again.

“She’s been good. She’s house trained well, never really excited with visitors but I guess I can tell she’s excited this time” She laughed, looking down at Luna and Loki barking and running around the floor together before finding Luna’s rope. “Come come Loki is so much smaller?”

“We think he was the runt” Gabe shrugged. “So he’s.. he’s for some reason still a puppy size and we’ve gone to vets about it, but there’s really nothing you can do” He smiled. “So he’s stuck this small” He shrugged. 

“Aw, kind of like you!” Charlie smiled. 

“I-“ Gabe began before frowning.

“Hm, well, I still prefer you. Besides, I like you short,” Sam smirked down at him.

Gabe frowned and looked up at him. “Why, because I’m a tight f-“

“Okay! Hey, look at the dogs!” Charlie smiled widely, pointing to the puppies. “I think they missed each other” She laughed and smiled.

Sam snorted and glanced at them. “Yeah, I’d think so. They haven’t seen each other for a few months. I know the feeling. But the reunion is the best part.”

Gabe smiled shyly and laughed under his breath before leaning against Sam’s chest. “..It’s sad to watch them go. But we promise to bring them back. But I was hoping we could hang out for a little bit and let them have their fun”

“Of course! Gilda has to work late tonight so you can be as loud as you want” She smiled and sat down on the couch, watching the dogs. “So how excited are we for the wedding?”

“Very,” Sam grinned, resting a hand on Gabe’s arm. “Hope you’ll be a part of it?”

“Of course I’d be there” Charlie smiled widely at them. “Are you gonna broadcast it or anything?” She asked. 

“No.. I think pictures would be enough” Gabe nodded softly.

“We can do pictures,” Sam nodded. “But I think it should mostly be our day. Aside from pictures.”

Gabe smiled widely as he looked back at Sam. “Cas I shove cake in your face?” He asked with a smile.

“Only if I can too,” Sam smiled.

Gabe laughed and shrugged. “Go for it” He mumbled softly. “I’ll eat most of it anyway” He smirked a little. 

“You guys are overbearingly cute” Charlie smiled.

“You love us,” Sam snorted.

“I sure do” Gabe grinned widely, looking up at Sam innocently. 

“You guys are freaky cute” Charlie laughed.

Sam smiled, rubbing Gabe’s arm. “But really, Don’t worry, we’ll let you in on the wedding details.”

“But the details after the wedding- all ours” Gabe winked and moved away from Sam to sit with the dogs who were laying comfortable together. “I think they’re happy” Gabe smiled widely, putting his puppy.

Sam nodded in agreement. “Kinda sad that we have to separate them,” he sighed.

Gabe pressed his lips together and frowned. “I know.. but we’ll take him to Dean’s after this” He smiled widely, rubbing over Loki’s ears.

“Then we go home to make plans,” Sam nodded.

“After dog day” Gabe grinned widely before laughing.

“After dog day,” Sam echoed in agreement.

Gabe smiled widely and moved to stand up so he was sitting with Charlie on the couch, beckoning Sam over to sit next to him.

Sam followed after him, leaning against Gabe’s shoulder. “So did you miss us for the short time you didn’t get to see us?” He joked, looking over at Charlie.

Charlie laughed and smiled. “It felt good proving people wrong. How did it feel to be the center of attention by everyone on campus?” Charlie teased.

“Eh, I don’t think I’ll ever be used to it honestly,” Sam snorted, shaking his head before sighing. “But you know, I can handle it better now.”

Gabe frowned slightly at the memory, looking away to stare at his dog. 

Charlie laughed a little and smiled. “Well, I think it’s pretty cool.”

“It is. But I can definitely handle it better. Helps when you have people you trust with you,” Sam nodded.

Gabe smiled softly as he looked away. He leaned back over to take Sam’s hand and lean on his arm. “Hey stranger”

Sam grinned and gently squeezed his hand. “Hey, where’ve I seen you before?”

“Hm..” Gabe pretending to think before laughing. “I don’t know but you’re cute. I might just have to steal you and take you home” He mumbled on Sam’s shoulder.

“I agree, maybe you should just live with me,” Sam smirked, laughing a little.

“Oh yeah?” Gabe smiled widely at him. “Do you think you’ll have enough room for me and my puppy?” He joked.

“Plenty,” Sam nodded. “Trust me, It’ll be great.”

Gabe smiled widely, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. “You’re cute. I might just marry you”

“You’re making me sick” Charlie mumbled from behind her phone while filming them.

“You’re welcome,” Sam shrugged, smirking at the camera. “Don’t you look at me like that, you should’ve heard yourself about Gilda before you two got together.”

“Sam!” She yelled before putting her phone down. “On video? How cold” She complained.

Sam smiled childishly and stuck his tongue out at her.

“Hey, keep that tongue of yours for me” Gabe teased with a smirk. 

“Ew!” Charlie laughed, looking away with a giggle.

Sam snorted and kissed his cheek. “You let us in your house, this is what you get,” he joked to Charlie.

“Regrets? I get regrets?” She asked. 

“Not all regrets” Gabe smiled widely at her. “Puppies” He nodded after a minute and looked down at Loki sleeping with Luna. He reached down to scratch his head, watching him pop his head up sleepily before laying back down with a sigh. “..I love him” He whispered quietly, watching him.

“He’s growing on me,” Sam smiled, leaning his head on Gabe’s shoulder.

“After a year, he is?” Gabe laughed softly, stroking his sweater as Loki slept peacefully.

“Yes,” Sam snorted. “To Be Fair, He’s still warming up to me too.”

Gabe laughed and let go of him to sit back and lean against Sam again. “I know. He’s almost a year old now.. or around” He mumbled softly.

“A year-ish,” Sam nodded, blowing hair from his face.

Gabe sighed softly, squeezing Sam’s hand tightly. “..I can’t wait to get married”

“Me too,” Sam smiled up at him. “I’m excited for us.”

Gabe smiled widely, leaning up to kiss him. “Me too”


	26. Chapter 26

“Calm down-“ Lucien tried again, watching Gabe immediately stand up and run around the room. “Gabe-“ He tried to stop him again, frowning when he just kept walking. Lucien sighed and turned to Michael. “If we stop this he’s gonna be late to his own wedding..” He whispered.

“Yes, I know this,” Michael huffed. “Gabriel, would you slow down for a second?”

Gabe whined, looking between his siblings as he chewed on his fingers, turning back to walk away. 

“He’s gonna make himself sick” Lucien whispered.

Michael grunted in frustration, taking Gabe by the shoulder to keep him from leaving. “Hey. You need to calm down. Deep breaths. It’s all gonna be fine, okay?”

Gabe frowned as he remained silent, look between his brothers. “I..” He sighed heavily. “I know” He whispered and smiled at Michael. “And thank you for being my best man, but right now I’m panicking and you’re not being the best man!” He cried. 

Charlie poked her head in, adjusting her tie on her suit. “Oh boy..” She whispered.

“I’m doing my best, I don’t know what to do,” Michael frowned, glancing over at Charlie. “Hey. How’s Sam? Also- you’re good with people. Help.”

“Sam’s getting ready” Charlie smiled and walked in further to find Gabe, instantly frowning. “Aw, Gabe” She smiled, hugging him around his shoulder, being just slightly taller. 

Gabe frowned and moved around a little before he settled and nestled into his neck, holding her close as he took his time. 

She smiled at them and shrugged. “Sam is about to go out” She mumbled.

“So we should- probably go?” Balthazar shrugged a little, gesturing for the door.

Gabe made a noise and pulled away from Charlie to hyperventilate on his own, walking a few steps away to take deep breaths. 

“Gabe.. Don’t you wanna marry Sam?” He smiled widely. 

“Of course I do, I just-..” He whispered, stopping to frown. “What if he changed his mind..?” Gabe asked. “What if he wants to end it like he did the first time.. or what if I fuck up and misunderstand him again? What if he realizes this isn’t what he wants and what he really wants is for to want it, but I do want it but not if he wants it because if he does want it then I want it but if he doesn’t want it then I wouldn’t want it, I mean I would but it’d be up to him unless he only wants it if I want it and if I don’t want it he wants even if he does want it..” Gabe paused before inhaling deeply. “But that means he wants it and that I’d want-“

“Gabe!” Lucien raised his voice a little to get his attention. “Stop thinking up there.. and start thinking in here” He smiled, putting a hand to Gabe’s chest. “You won’t regret it because, at one time, you did want it..” He smiled.

“Besides, you two have been so excited leading up to today. I doubt anything can change that quick,” Michael said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll bet he wants this just as much as you do.”

“..Unless he doesn’t want it..” Gabe mumbled, chewing on his nails. “..But then I might want it but he wouldn’t want it but maybe he might because I want it but what if he only wants it because he thinks I want it?” Gabe continued to mumble softly to himself. 

Lucien sighed and checked the time, putting a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Gabe, time to go” He whispered. 

Charlie smiled and quietly slipped out to the hallway.

Gabe inhaled deeply, hesitantly taking ahold of Lucien’s arm. In the end, he wanted both of the twins to walk him down, but Michael and he worked it out.

They could hear the music start up as they approached, and Balthazar patted his shoulder in support before heading down to take his place with the rest of their friends and family. Gabe breathed in deeply as they waited a little while, Lucien leading him down the aisle. Gabe looked up to stare at Sam anxiously. He wanted to turn around, but that for sure wasn’t a good idea. Then Lucien was stopping to hug him tightly and hand him off to Sam, taking his position next to Michael.

Sam smiled down at him, a hint of concern crossing his face. “Are you okay?” He whispered.

Gabe smiled widely, looking up at him before nodding. “..Perfect” He whispered, quieting down for their priest to begin. He couldn’t help but stare at Sam the whole time, smiling and rubbing his fingers over Sam’s. They both repeated their designated lines and got their wedding rings back.

Lucien had to reach up and wipe a few tears from his eyes as they were almost done, leaning on Michael’s shoulder for comfort.

Sam was staring right back at him, a warm smile on his face. “I love you,” he murmured quietly enough so that only Gabe could hear.

Gabe was about to say it back before Sam was saying ‘I do’ and then his turn came to lean into Sam. “I love you” He whispered against Sam’s lips before finally kissing him. Sam bent down for him, hand on his back to hold him close.

Gabe smiled against his lips, hands reaching up to caress his ears as he cried, keeping their faces close. “I can’t wait.. to show the world who I love” He whispered with a laugh, his family and friends getting louder.

“Hm.. and I’ll be right there beside you,” Sam agreed with a soft smile. “Showing you off.”  
Gabe laughed softly, kissing him softly again. “..You have no idea how happy that makes me” He whispered, letting Sam pull him down the aisle so his brothers could flow petals in his hair, making him laugh.

Sam laughed and grinned along with him as they headed outside, a small crowd of people trailing happily behind them.

Gabe grinned widely, holding his hand tightly as Sam led him down to the limo, unable to stop smiling. “I love you” He whispered, staring up at Sam in amazement.

“I love you too,” Sam murmured back, leaning down to kiss him again before pulling back with a grin. “Reception time?”

“Absolutely” He grinned. “I want to party.. all night” He laughed, leading Sam into the car, closing the door behind him. “I can’t wait to just get drunk,” He laughed, moving to kiss Sam by his lapels, pulling him in deeply. “and have raging sex all night” He rambled, kissing him again.

“Got it all planned out?” Sam smirked, leaning in to kiss him again. “I can’t wait.”

“I don’t think I can wait all night” He admitted, hands trailing for Sam’s collar, messing with the button but not undoing it. “I don’t wanna wait all night” He complained.

“Not all night,” Sam smiled, placing his hands on his waist. “Just a couple of hours.”

Gabe glared and reached down for Sam’s belt loop. “I can’t wait that long” He whispered, undoing his belt hastily. 

~~

Dean smiled widely, looking around the hall as he followed Cas. “You guys did an amazing job of this place” He noted, looking around. “Kind of makes me mad they got married first” SM laughed.

“Yes, well, we get more time to plan for ours,” Cas said simply, smiling back at him before moving over to another side of the hall. “I’m thinking.. we set up instruments here. Put on a little congratulations performance for them. What do you think?”

“You want them to sing for Gabe and Sam?” He asked with a wide smile. “That’s a perfect idea” He mumbled, slipping his hands around Cas waist to pull him in closer. “You’re going to be amazing at planning our wedding” He mumbled into Cas’ neck.

Cas sighed softly, a smile spreading across his face. “Aha, you think I haven’t started. I have a folder for you to look over,” he laughed.

Dean laughed and pulled him in tighter to kiss his cheek. “Of course you have” He whispered. “Alright, let’s go set up before they get here”

Cas nodded and immediately began looking around for his brothers to set up. Dean frowned a little when he left him, sighing as he went back to get set up without them. 

~

Gabe cleared his throat as he wiped his mouth, glancing up at Sam with a small smile as Sam redid his belt. “..I didn’t know I could do that” He whispered softly.

Sam laughed a little as he readjusted his clothes. “Well.. the more you know, huh?”

Gabe laughed a little and rubbed his lips. “Tonight better a little more fun than just blow jobs” He teased, poking at Sam’s side.

“‘Course it will,” Sam smirked, sitting up a little more. “Dontcha trust me?”

“I only married you and immediately gave you a blow job afterward” He glared playfully. “I’d hope I did” He joked.

Sam snorted and nudged him jokingly. “We’ll have plenty of fun.” He glanced out the window. “We’re here.”

Gabe glanced out and smiled widely. “I can’t wait” He laughed softly. “After.. I get a drink to make my breath smell at least a little better” He blushed.

“Go ahead, I’ll go find our table,” Sam smiled, pushing open his door as they stopped, and waited for Gabe.

Gabe smiled and climbed out, taking Sam’s hand happily before closing the door behind him. He followed in with Sam, looking around before spotting his brothers setting up their instruments. “..What the-“ He whispered.

Cas turned around, smiling when he saw him. “Right on time. Don’t worry about all this, there are still people getting here.”

Gabe tilted his head and laughed a little. “What do you mean? What are doing?” He smiled anyway. 

“Nothing” Lucien smiled and waved him off a little.

“Just go sit with Sam until your first dance,” Balthazar grinned.

Gabe smiled softly and took ahold of Sam’s hand. “Dibs on the purple wine” He winked.

Sam smiled and squeezed his hand. “Lead the way.”

Gabe led him to the table, pouring himself a drink before offering one to Sam. “You’ll never understand how happy you make me” Gabe smirked a little.

“I think we’ve both made each other very happy,” Sam agreed, kissing the top of his head and taking his cup before leading them both back to their table.

Gabe smiled brightly, taking sips of his glass as they sat down. “I think we both have” He grinned, leaning over to kiss him. “..Kind of still can’t believe you’re my husband now” He whispered.

Sam smiled and nodded, resting a hand on his leg. “I’m really, really happy about it.”

Gabe laughed and drank the rest of his wine happily. “I mean, I am too but it’s unbelievable how lucky I got” He whispered.

“Psh, I’m the lucky one,” Sam scoffed, giving him a sideways glance and a smile, then looking up at Gabe’s brothers. “What are they setting up for? Are you guys suppose to perform?”

Gabe shook his head softly. “No..” He frowned and shrugged. “I don’t know what they’re doing but to be fair I really don’t want to play” He frowned.

“Well, I wouldn’t think so. We still have our dance,” Sam nodded, tilting his head.

Cas looked up and around the room, squinting a little as he counted to himself. “Is everyone here?” He asked, picking up Michael’s guitar to hand to him.

“Sure is” Lucien smiled widely, holding up his drum sticks. “Ready?” He asked with a smirk.

“Ready,” Michael confirmed, taking over the lead mic for a moment and tapping it. “Hey, Gabe. We just wanted to let you know that we’re really happy for you.”

Gabe jumped a little and looked at his brothers in confusion. “What are they-“ He whispered, beginning to stand up, gesturing to himself then the stage. 

“No, just dance” Lucien laughed, starting a gentle pace on the drums. 

Gabe gave him a confused face, hesitantly tempted between sitting and going to dance. Sam smiled a little, then stood up and took his hand. “Come on,” he whispered.

Gabe smiled a little and followed after him, letting Sam pull him in close. Gabe reached up to wrap his arms around Sam’s neck to start swaying to Cas’ soft voice. “..This is perfect” He whispered, hands messing with Sam’s suit collar.

“It is,” Sam murmured back, humming softly along to a [slow, acoustic version of Heat of the Moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAL4NtUhw7Y) as he spun Gabe around once and continued swaying.

Gabe laughed, coming back to hug his neck. “Don’t spin me..” He whispered, staying close to Sam’s chest. “..Just keep me close.. forever”

Sam hugged him tightly against him, sighing softly against his hair. “Forever.”


End file.
